FPCCI pushes for faster construction

[Salman]

KARACHI: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Mian Muhammad Adrees has urged the federal government to expedite construction work on major highways between Karachi and Lahore including the existing Sukkur-Lahore and Sukkur-Karachi sections.

The chamber president emphasised the importance of the Karachi-Sukkur section of the motorway so that it is connected with major cities of the country. “This will not only enhance and facilitate trade and industrial activities from Karachi to Lahore but also speed up transportation of goods from Karachi,” he said.

In a statement on Tuesday, he argued that Karachi is the economic hub with the facility of two ports handling more than 60% of Pakistan’s cargo and the city is also contributing around 70% revenue to the national exchequer. Moreover, Pak-Afghan transit trade activities are mostly initiated from Karachi.

Adrees applauded the vision of the Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif and his team to develop communication and transportation network to augment and boost trade activities in cities and rural areas. He drew the attention of the finance minister towards the Finance Bill 2015 in which the government has allowed the export of perishable items from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to Afghanistan in Pakistani currency, which will further increase traffic on motorways.

He said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a very important and a vibrant project while the motorway network of the country should have supportive links for the corridor to spread its utility in far-flung rural areas of the country.