‘Govt should focus on productive sectors’

LAHORE: The government should shift its focus from non-productive sectors to the productive ones such as bio-technology, which has immense potential to act as “fate-changer”, as it is one of the best replacements of conventional energy resources.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, LCCI President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad said that renewable and sustainable energy resources are the best substitute to the conventional fuels and energy sources, as the business community understands that bio-fuels will reduce dependence on petroleum to some degree and enhance energy security. Likewise, it will also contribute in rural economic development, he said.

He said that it is really unfortunate that no significant work has been done in Pakistan on the use of ethanol from sugarcane.

Moreover, Arshad said that there is abundant availability of cultivable area in the shape of barren and waste land in the country.

The government should encourage utilisation of this land for growing jatropha plant at a wider scale.

"We can extract non-edible oil from this herb to produce bio-diesel. This can be used in vehicles by way of mixing up to 10 percent with diesel.

He said that it is high time that public and private sectors must come up and join hands in order to utilise the untapped potential of bio-fuel, especially the government of Punjab should take initiative to utilise barren and waste land for bio-fuel production.

He urged the government to take measures on war-footings to promote bio-fuels that would not only help it overcome the energy crisis, but would also reduce the oil import bill.