Islamabad : – A Meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production was held at Parliament House under the Chairmanship of Senator Aon Abbas. The meeting was attended by Senators Syed Masroor Ahsan, Khalida Ateeb, Husna Bano, Danesh Kumar, Saleem Mandviwalla, Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, Mir Dostain Khan Domki and senior management from the Ministry/relevant departments.
The meeting was held to discuss the role, functions and achievements of Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC). The Committee was told was briefed that at
the time of its creation, Pakistan did not inherit any industrial base. East & West Pakistan combined had only 34 factories out of a total of 921 Industrial units in the Subcontinent i.e. 3.6%. Which includs: Cotton textile, Cigarettes, Rice Husking, Cotton Ginning and Flour Milling, contributing only 7% of GDP and employing only 26,400 people out of an 80 million population. The East wing produced 70 percent of the world’s jute, but there was not a single jute mill and West Bengal (India) was almost the sole buyer. In the West wing, only 16,000 of the total 1,500,000 cotton bales produced could be processed domestically.
Further they told that Industrial units setup by PIDC between 1952-1984 were 94 and country’s industrial growth during 1953-63 remained around 19.1% which was almost solely due to PIDC. In 2005/06, a number of Section-42 (not-for-profit) Companies and Common Facility Centers were created as wholly-owned subsidiaries of PIDC for intervention in various sectors including gems & jewellery, marble/granite, handicrafts, sporting arms, dies & moulds, technology upgradation for skill imparting, setting up Common Facility Centers and introducing modern technology. PIDC provided seed money for their establishment. However, the companies had their own independent management and boards, directly appointed by the government, relevant department stated. The committee was informed that the seed money provided is not recovered, rather it is treated as a grant or donation.
The committee was apprised of the current status of PIDC projects. It was informed that Bin Qasim Industrial Park – SEZ (Karachi, Sindh), Korangi Creek Industrial Park – SEZ (Karachi), and Rachna Industrial Park – SEZ (Sheikhupura) have been developed. Naushahro Feroze Industrial Park – SEZ (Sindh) is currently under development. Block-A of Karachi Industrial Park – CPEC SEZ has received PC-1 approval (Rs. 7.4 billion), and the tendering process is underway. Additionally, Sargodha Industrial Park (Punjab) is also being developed.
Following the briefing, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla expressed concerns regarding the Port Qasim area, stating that a significant land has no industrial unit established and land is so expensive that an investor would have to spend most of their funds just to acquire the land, leaving little to no resources for setting up the industry. He added that such conditions are unlikely to attract foreign investors, and even if they do come, the challenges are so overwhelming that they eventually withdraw.
Subsequently, the Chairman of the Committee directed that a visit to the site be arranged, and all committee members should collectively undertake the visit.
The Chairman Committee inquired the present status of Rightsizing in Utility Stores Corporation (USC). The Department breifed the Committee that restructuring/rightsizing plan aimed at the eventual privatization of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) was formally approved by the USC Board of Directors during its 185th meeting held on 27th December 2024. While the restructuring plan was approved, USC was operating with 3,742 outlets across Pakistan with 11,614 employees.
Utility Stores Corporation is being restructured under the restructuring plan according to which the loss making stores of the Corporation are going to be closed and surplus staff thereafter is being laid off.
As part of the ongoing restructuring plan of USC, 1,925 stores have been closed and around 4,060 employees (1,823 contractual & 2,237 daily wages) have been laid off.
It was also disclosed during the committee meeting that the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) will not have sufficient funds to pay salaries to its 5,000 employees beyond next month, due to the closure of a significant number of its outlets. USC officials informed the committee that the Secretary had forwarded recommendations at the highest level, requesting that funds be allocated for USC in the upcoming budget.
The Chairman of the Committee recommended that details of the employees recruited in 2007 and 2013 should be submitted in the next meeting, from each province providing ten office orders. This will enable the committee to assess the duration of their contractual appointments. Additionally, it was recommended that representatives from the Board of Directors (BOD), CBA Union, and PC should be invited to the next meeting.
The Committee also discussed role and functions of Exports Processing Zones Authority (EPZA). The Committee also discussed the role and functions of the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA). The members expressed strong displeasure over the absence of the EPZA Chairman and were informed that the position has remained vacant for the past seven months, with no appointment made to date. The Committee conveyed its dissatisfaction over the delay and expressed hope that the Chairman would be appointed before the next meeting.
A major disclosure was also made during the meeting, 50% of epza export are second hand clothing revealing that approximately 80% of the higher-quality second-hand clothing imported into Pakistan (commonly known as lunda clothing) is re-exported to African and certain other countries.
The Committee Chairman recommended that a list of companies engaged in export activities be provided to the Committee. He also directed that the Committee be facilitated in visiting the relevant sites. Furthermore, the Committee Chairman instructed that a detailed breakup of the 2024 export figure, amounting to Rs. 654.79 million, should be submitted in the forthcoming meeting.
The Committee also held a discussion on Electric Vehicles (EVs) and was informed that Lahore, one of Pakistan’s major cities, lacks EV charging stations even in distant areas. It was noted that climate change is currently a serious issue, and if vehicles continue to run on fuel, the situation will worsen significantly. Therefore, immediate and serious efforts are required in this regard.
The Engineering Development Board (EDP) informed the Committee that a comprehensive EV policy has been prepared and is ready for presentation. However, they are awaiting time from the Prime Minister. Consequently, the Committee recommended that a formal letter be sent to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, requesting that time be allocated for EDP to present its EV policy.
The Committee decided to constitute a Sub-Committee under the Convenership of Senator Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee and other members are Senator Syed Masroor Ahsan and Senator Saleem Mandviwalla to suggest effective Electric Vehicle (EV) policy to the government.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
