Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak has said that CPEC has enhanced the strategic importance of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and asked for realignment and need assessment for the incoming investment in the new and emerging situation in the entire belt. He added that the future of the province is bright "as situation for investment has been favorable and investors preferring to invest here which will lead to provision of job opportunities in the province".
This he said while addressing at the inaugural ceremony of job fair jointly organized by Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Peshawar and TUSDEC in Peshawar on Tuesday. President SCCI Muhammad Afzal, Chairman Job Fair Adeel Rauf and Nabeel Asghar, TUSCEC addressed the ceremony. Fifty different entrepreneurs arranged and conducted on the spot interview facility to the job seeking talented youth during the fair. Up-to 4000 job opportunities were expected to be provided to the skilled youth during the fair.
The Chief Minister lauded arrangements of the job fare and termed it a great achievement and added that employment was a great problem of the province due to low industrialization and previous location disadvantages and lack of wisdom in the past. He said that the worst law and order situation in the province in the past badly affected industrialization. The situation forced the industrialists to leave the province. He said that now situation had absolutely changed and investors had been attracted to the province for investment due to solid steps taken by the provincial government for the promotion of industrial sector in the province.
Khattak underlined the need of uniform development of all corners of the country as backwardness of some area; he said could lead to creation of deprivation. He told that the provincial government was focusing on equal uplift of all areas of the province to ensure uniform development. Highlighting the strategy of the provincial government for the promotion of industrial sector, he informed that TEVTA was established to make training institution effective while government was taking steps with the collaboration of different organizations for provision of quality training to the youth. He appealed to the industrialists to come forward and assist the government in this regard.
KP CM said that government was giving due importance to the private sector for promotion of industries and that is why lucrative incentives were being extended to the investors in the province. The Chief Minister said that the future of the province was very bright in the context of CPEC. He said that western route of CPEC would be the shortest one due to which economic activities would flourish in the province as compared to other provinces. He underlined the need of long term and effective planning to benefit from the opportunities to be provided by CPEC in the area.
The Chief Minister said that the KP was considered as non feasible for industrialization due to at distance from the sea, lack of raw material and absence of skilled-man power. "Now situation had absolutely changed and the province had become a feasible place for industrialization due to steps taken by the government" he maintained.
The Chief Minister said that now industrialists of the province could compete with the industrialists of other provinces. He said that apart from five per cent concession on interest, Incentives for transportation of machinery and women entrepreneurs, the condition of NOC for establishment of industrial units had been abolished in the province. He further said that government was focusing on improvement of institutions and that is why EZDMC had formed to ensure participation of private sector in promotion of industrial sector. He further said that beside delegation of power to EZDMC, one line budget had been provided to it while one window operation facility had also been extended to industrialists in the province.