Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Malik Tahir Javaid has called for unorthodox mechanism and immediate short-term planning for fast economic growth.
While talking to a group of leading businessmen, LCCI president said that government's pledge to construct dam is a step in right direction. He suggested that growing energy needs can be met by adding around 8000MW worth of electricity generation through coal within next 6-8 years at a cost of $8 billion that will cost an electricity unit of less than Rs 5 per KW. It will save national exchequer of Rs 172 billion per annum in import of bill for oil. Another 8100MW of electricity can be added through the construction of Bhasha and Kalabagh dams, he added.
LCCI chief said Pakistan has witnessed decline in water availability and it can be increased through construction of new water reservoirs. He said water thrown to the sea every year is up to the three times of our total water carrying capacity. Construction of all projects already in the execution phase must be completed at the earliest, he added.
He estimated that Pakistan can have total water storage capacity of 26.47 after completion of Bhasha dam. Out of the total land available for irrigation, approximately 80 percent is irrigated land. Out of this land, around 35 percent was being catered by canals while another 40 percent was being irrigated by tube-wells but these both resources strongly affected because of various reasons.
About agriculture sector, Malik Tahir Javaid said that the per acre yield gap in the four major crops of Pakistan is three times from the best producers in the world such as China and Egypt besides having best canal system and natural resources. This low yield has contributed to the poverty in rural areas, he said. He said that Egypt produces around three times more rice and sugarcane per hectare as compared to Pakistan. Therefore Egypt and China should be the benchmarks for improving our yield.
He said that large scale introduction of hybrid seeds and mechanized farming, high efficiency irrigation system such as drip irrigation and reduction in waste of crop through introduction of privately owned storage facilities can help improve the yield.
He further said that total share of mining and manufacturing in GNP is over 19 percent that can be increased considerably by facilitation.
He said that trade imbalance has become one of the biggest economic threats to the country. Pakistan most favourite markets have been Europe, North America and Gulf States.
Besides this, Pakistan should have more Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with non-conventional countries, he added. He said that proper use of human resources can turn Pakistan into a leading economy. He said that human resources should be trained through establishment of training centers across the country and skilled manpower should be provided employment opportunities at domestic level.