(January 30, 2017)
President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President AKIA, Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former Provincial Minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said CPEC is greatest achievement of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif which will boost GDP by one percent within one year.
It will boost exports by two to three percent by 2018 despite the incompetency of Export Managers as the early harvest power projects would add 10400 megawatt of electricity to the national grid within one year, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that additional power supply will not only boost exports but also help reduce unemployment, push forex reserves and foreign investment and improve revenue.
He said that government should also focus on taping renewable sources of energy as the price of solar power has fell by fifty percent in sixteen months while the price of LNG is also going down which call for following strategy of other country which have started preferring short-term contracts over long-term deals.
Energy crisis is eating up two percent of the GDP therefore government is in hurry to bridge the gap but it should not overlook the cost factor, he demanded.
The business leader said that the skilled and unskilled labour in China is demanding better wages which has compelled many industries to relocate therefore Pakistan should try its best to make country attractive for them.
The details of special economic zones are yet to be finalised with China and our policymakers should ensure that it complements local trade and industry rather than putting its survival at stake, he said.
