Commerce, textile div: NA panel endorses budget proposals of Rs10.58 billion under PSDP

A parliamentary panel has endorsed budget proposals of Commerce and Textile Divisions to the tune of Rs 10.58 billion for the next financial year 2019-20 under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce and Textile met here with Syed Naveed Qamar in the chair on Tuesday for having briefing on the ministry and its attached departments as well as scrutinising the budgetary proposals of Commerce and Textile Divisions for the year 2019-20.
The committee was separately apprised of the proposed PSDP of Commerce and Textile Divisions. The secretary Commerce Division informed that the division had proposed allocation of PSDP fund amounting to Rs 7,538 million for nine development projects during the financial year 2019-20 relating to establishment of new expo centres at Islamabad, Quetta and Faisalabad, expansion/remodelling of Expo Centre at Karachi, and provision of hostel, parking building and security infrastructure at Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design, Lahore and Karachi. He further informed that after the approval of the competent forum and subsequent release of funds, the projects would be completed within the stipulated timeframe.
The secretary Textile Division apprised the committee of the proposed PSDP allocation for the projects of the Textile Division. He informed that Rs 3,043.77 million have been proposed for three ongoing and five new projects. Apprising the committee of the new projects, the secretary said that those projects relate to standardisation system for production of high quality clean cotton, skill development programme for youth in textile sector, and establishment/expansion of garment cities at Karachi, Faisalabad and Lahore.
The committee was not convinced about the performance of Faisalabad Garment City phase-I and training programme conducted therein, therefore, it directed to hold those two projects till next meeting of the committee.
The committee constituted a two members subcommittee comprising Raza Nasrullah and Wajiha Ikaram to visit the Faisalabad Garment City and identify problems therein due to which the project could not achieve objectives of its establishment. The committee decided to have comprehensive briefing on the reasons of decline in exports and working and performance of the Commerce Division in its next meeting.
The meeting was attended by Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to the PM on Commerce and Textile as well as the MNAs including Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh, Nawab Sher, Raza Nasrullah, Ahmad Hussain Deharr, Wajiha Akram, Sajida Begum, Farukh Khan, Tahira Aurangzeb, Shaista Pervaiz and Syed Javed Ali Shah Jillani, secretaries commerce and textile, and senior officers of the concerned departments.