The continuous power shortage is creating hurdles in the current pace of economic growth of the country. The growing gap between demand and supply of power and interrupted supply of power to industrial sector is retarding the country exports.
According to a press release issued here, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Majyd Aziz said this while inaugurating the first meeting of Engineering and Technology Sub-committee of KCCI. He said following the traditional power resources one should look at the other alternative energy resources like solar and wind energy to provide power.
He further said that this newly formed Sub-committee was being established under the present manifesto of his team to address the problems and issues of this crucial sector especially automotive, defence production, and hi-tech engineering.
The KCCI president said they were building bridges between foreigners and Pakistani counterparts to collaborate in these sectors with special emphasis on value addition in automotive sector.
Giving a valuable presentation on importance of solar and wind energy, Azhar Ayub, Erector of Solar and Winter Wind Plants said solar energy was one of the solutions of power shortage, as sun was abundantly available without any cost, since solar energy systems could also work in overcast situations.
The downside of solar energy products was their cost, which is out of reach of most of the population's purchasing power. To solve this problem, a number of companies have manufactured low-cost and affordable solar energy products.
He said that Pakistan lies in the region of trade winds, which give it a competitive edge to utilise this priceless resource to overcome the problem of energy shortage.
In this respect, Azhar identified a few areas in Karachi near Hawks Bay and National Highway for installing both solar and wind energy plants to produce electricity. Ovais Siddik Jaangda, Chairman of the Sub-committee, said that engineering sector accounts for 63 percent share in world trade. However, he expressed his grave concern over the multiplicity of problems confronting Engineering and Technology sector in Pakistan.
During the meeting a number of issues and roadblocks were discussed such as adoption of technology in industrial sector to enhance the country exports, and scope and prospects of Public-Private Partnership in defence production.
The committee, inter-alia, also discussed the issue of bank requirement of 100 percent down payment as guarantee, as it is adversely affecting the growth of the sector. The committee showed its concern as to why the banks were not accepting the insurance guarantee as per past practice. Junaid Kapadia, the Senior Vice Chairman of the Sub-Committee appreciated the active participation in the matters of the Sub-committee.-PR
Comments
Comments are closed.