The Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) on Saturday observed that delay in Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Pakistan has halted the execution of Quaid-e-Azam Apparel Park which has been notified as Quaid-e-Azam Apparel Park Company by the Punjab government now.
The newly-appointed chairman of Quaid-e-Azam Apparel Business Council Sajid Slim Minhas, who is also former central chairman of PRGMEA, stated that garment sector is the biggest loser due to delay in Chinese President's visit, as Xi Jinping was to formally inaugurate several garment industry projects and Joint Ventures worth Rs 12 billion. He asked the government to give a clear time frame to end sit-ins, as majority of export orders are shifting to Bangla Desh, Burma and India due to political tension.
"The Chinese Ruyi Group was set to install a Denim Mill of 100 million metre per day, a Dying Mill of 100 million metre per day, besides launching a Coal Power Plant of 150MW in Faisalabad Industrial Estate, as the company has already acquired 1,000 acre of land there. The real issue is that the plan has got late when every day is important as the buyer is diverting to our competitors."
Sajid Minhas said that presently Bangla Desh is far ahead of us in garment sector and now Burma, Cambodia and India are our competitors. All these countries have announced to provide land for garment city to China to start investment. He said the country could not afford politics of protests and sit-ins, as the protests in Islamabad are not only damaging the country's image but also hurting its economy.
The garment industry leader said the postponement of the Chinese President's visit had put on hold agreements worth $32 billion, including Rs 12 billion projects of garment sector. He observed that the country is already facing energy crisis and it needs huge investment to boost power generation to meet industrial and domestic needs. He said CM Shahbaz Sharif is busy in flood related activities due to which the formal opening of Quaid-e-Azam Apparel Park is pending though the whole documentation of the park is completed.
The whole government machinery is engaged in political affairs and no one is available to have meetings with industrial bodies to listen their issues. He said the production activities are badly affected, reducing to almost 60 percent due to the prolonged suspension in energy supplies. PRGMEA Senior Vice Chairman Jawwad Chaudhry said international media is monitoring the whole situation; therefore, it would be wiser on part of the political players to show responsibility and commitment toward the country.-PR
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