Criticality of forex explained

Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that growth in exports, industrialisation, and tourism is essential for foreign exchange which the country needed the most.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of Sialkot-Kharian motorway to be constructed under Public-Private Partnership (PPP), the prime minister said that the country required industrialisation for wealth creation for repayment of debt, and industrialisation can only happen through PPP. He asked the Ministry of Communication to straightaway come to him, if there are hurdles in PPP.

“We will remove hurdle in Public-Private Partnership,” he said, adding that ease of doing business has been critical for the government to provide a congenial environment for the businesses. The PPP is very important to bring about investment in the country, he said.

The prime minister said that 27 Lac vehicles went through Swat motorway on the Eid days, which reflects the importance of tourism. Tourism is a big sector and once the motorway is built it would increase enormously, the PM said.

Sialkot-Kharian: Motorway project worth Rs27bn comes under intense discussion

The motorways would further boost the tourism sector, focus on industries and tourism to raise dollars, and remove barriers to public-private partnerships, he said.

He said that construction of motorways like Swat could increase domestic and foreign tourism.

The PM further said that Sialkot-Kharian motorway would be constructed in areas that are large in terms of population and are expected to increase more industrialisation.

He said that contraction of 100 kilometres difference with the construction of Sialkot-Sahiwal motorway would save foreign exchange owing to less consumption of petroleum products.

Small industries vital for economic progress: PM Imran

Earlier, Minister for Communication Murad Saeed said that the present government has constructed more roads during the last three years compared to the same tenure of the previous government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

The PML-N constructed 625-km roads, whereas, the present government constructed 1,753 km roads in three years, he said.

Additionally, he claimed, that the National Highway Authority (NHA) revenue increased during the last three years, and e-procurement and e-bidding have been introduced.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021