Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Industry Abdul Karim Khan has asked the federal government to swiftly complete work on the policy of supplying electricity to enterprises in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on a wheeling fee basis. If the federal government offers facilities of electricity supply to industries on a wheeling fee basis, it would boost Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's industrialization and draw more industries in addition to generating income for people during this challenging period of economic recession.

He made these comments to reporters after performing the ground breaking for a road project and the inauguration of a marble and granite manufacturing facility in Mohmand Industrial Zone, one of the 14 industrial clusters that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC) has recently established.

He stated that the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO) is working on a number of small-scale and micro hydropower projects in the province to meet the province's energy needs and to encourage industrialization in a region still reeling from the effects of a decades-long wave of militancy and terrorism.

Abdul Karim recommended that the federal government work on initiatives of supplying industry with energy from the Pehur Hydro-power Project and the Malakand Hydel Power Project on wheeling rates. In the current economic downturn, Karim said, it is essential to adopt steps that would reduce the burden on businesspeople while also drawing investors to the country as a whole and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular.

He informed reporters that there are now eight functioning industrial units altogether in the Mohmand Industrial Zone following the opening of a new facility. While more than 13 projects are still in the works, three are almost finished and will shortly begin to operate. Stone crushing, marble and granite processing, steel manufacturing, oil and vegetable processing, and other industries have been built in Mohmand, he said.

KPEZDMC is offering cutting-edge amenities in the newly created industrial zones, including round-the-clock electricity, impenetrable security, water supply, and ease of working with various government departments. For the opening of its branches in these industrial zones, KPEZMDC also signed an agreement with Bank of Khyber, and shortly a branch will be established in the Mohmand district.

In addition, he asked that businesses operating in economic zones be exempt from the same sales taxes on power that other businesses operating outside of the zones pay. Karim emphasised that in order to ensure fair competition in manufacturing costs, these industries should also be given the same facility as is being granted to others.

He said that in addition to refurbishing three already existing industrial zones, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, through KPEZDMC, has created 14 brand new ones. These actions have led to the establishment of several industries in the province and the creation of thousands of jobs, he added.

There was just one industrial unit in D.I. Khan at Darzanda, but 15 are now functioning as a result of the creation of the industrial zone, he noted. According to him, a report of the Mohmand Industrial Zone has been sent to the Board of Investment BoI in order to get it recognised as a Special Economic Zone and connected to Torkham in the future for trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk