The Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) and the government of Punjab on Wednesday inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up an industrial estate for Overseas Pakistanis at Motorway Chakri Interchange Rawalpindi to provide investment opportunities to overseas investors.
In this regard, Managing Director OPF Syed Nayyer Hasnain Haider and Secretary Investment and Commerce, Punjab Tahir Raza Naqvi signed the MoU. Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Secretary Overseas Pakistanis Division Naheed Haider and other senior officials were also attended the ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that Overseas Pakistanis had been demanding for an Industrial Estate having complete infrastructure and amenities for establishing industries.
This issue also came under discussion during the Overseas Pakistanis Investment Conference held in first March 2007, he added. Ghulam Sarwar Khan said the role of Pakistanis working abroad in term of contributing foreign exchange in the economy of Pakistan was highly laudable.
"Pakistan has earned more than 17 billion dollar through export, while, Overseas Pakistanis had remitted 6 billion dollar to Pakistan," Khan added. The Minister said President General Pervez Musharraf had desired that industrial estate should be set up in far-flung areas to provide job opportunities to the deserving people.
He said mostly the motorway interchanges would be utilised for this purpose in future. Highlighting the features of Industrial Estate, he said Chakri Industrial Estate will spread over 1000 acres in first phase on Pakistan Motorway.
The Punjab government will provide land while OPF will develop and provide complete infrastructure facilities, he said. Federal Government would guarantee the provision of all basic utilities for the scheme like water, gas, electricity and telephone and also ensure similar incentives for this Industrial Estate as allowed to Chinese specific zone in the country. Sarwar Khan said this estate will be developed on the pattern of Sundar Industrial Estate, Lahore with complete infrastructure facilities.