KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Haroon Agar has said that Pakistan produces world’s finest quality textile products due to which the leading international brands purchase products from Pakistani textile suppliers.
Exchanging these views with Pakistan Textile City Limited Chief Executive Muhammad Hanif Kasbati, Haroon emphasised the need of more industrialisation in the textile clusters for enhancing exports, which will ultimately uplift the economy.
He said textile industry contributes over 50 per cent of the total export share of Pakistan, adding that the country has a network of textile industries including all the major clusters like weaving, dying, printing, hosiery and knitwear, apparel, towel, bed linen and denim etc.
He admired the initiative of Textile City on public and private partnership basis, which is in the interest of the country and its citizens. He said the present seven industrial zones in Karachi lack of infrastructural facilities of proper roads, railway linkage and other basic amenities like energy, gas, water etc. The textile policy framework focuses on improving textile industry’s competitiveness.
He said that diversification of economic activities and industrial production is crucial. Major constraints and impediments to industrial development such as, administrative bottlenecks relating to the provision of government services, red tape and time delays, tax administration, commercial laws, labour relations must be controlled. He hoped that the Pakistan Textile City will achieve its desired objectives.
Pakistan Textile City Limited Chief Executive Muhammad Hanif Kasbati apprised that the Textile City is an unlisted public limited company incorporated in May 2004 under the Companies Ordinance 1984. It is driven with the vision to develop and operate world-class industrial zones across Pakistan.
He further said that with an authorised capital of Rs2.2 billion and incorporated as public private joint venture, Pakistan Textile City is committed to develop and manage the first WTO and ISO compliant textile processing industrial zone at Karachi. He said Textile City is spread over an area of 1,250 acres of land in Eastern Industrial Zone of Port Qasim and it is conveniently located at 6km from National Highway.
KCCI Senior Vice President Shamim Firpo, Vice President Nasir Mehmood and managing committee members also participated in the meeting.