Quality, productivity enhancement of auto parts: JICA-SMEDA to begin technical support programme

Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) is going to start a four year technical support programme for quality and productivity enhancement of the Auto Parts Manufacturing Industry of Pakistan in April this year.
SMEDA Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Alamgir Chaudhry revealed this while addressing a meeting here Monday. He said that JICA Chief Representative Mitsuyoshi Kawasaki has held a meeting with him to set a roadmap for implementation of the project. Syed Mujtaba Hussain, Joint Secretary (Japan), Economic Affairs Division (EAD), Dr Mukhtar Ahmad, Senior Joint Secretary, Ministry of Industries and Production (MoI&P) were also present in the meeting. During this four years programme, technical support will be extended to 50 auto parts manufacturing units of Pakistan through five Technical Experts of JICA, who are expected to arrive in Pakistan in April 2015. Out of 50 SMEs, around 10 SMEs would be developed as model factories in the field of productivity and quality. Furthermore, development support system through capacity building programmes of partner organisations and local experts is prime consideration of the project.
The visiting Japanese experts will also hold a series of workshops both in Punjab and Sindh on productivity and quality enhancement in auto sector of Pakistan. It is to note that SMEDA has been collaborating with JICA since 2004 to conduit best productivity and quality improvement knowledge and practices to the indigenous manufacturers belonging to various sectors. In this connection SMEDA requested to Government of Japan (GoJ) for initiating a long-term technical support of Japanese way of improving productivity and quality.