Expo centre to be established in Islamabad

Islamabad : The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and a private housing society of Islamabad have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of a state-of-the-art Expo Centre in the Federal Capital.

Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President ICCI and Shujaat Ullah Qureshi, Secretary, of the private housing society signed the MoU in a ceremony here Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, Tariq Mehmood, President of the private housing society said that by establishing an Expo Center in the federal capital, we would be discharging an important national responsibility.

He said that the Expo Centre was the backbone of the economy and that a joint venture between ICCI and the private housing society for this important project would go a long way in improving the economy.

He said that this project would make the region a hub of business activities. He stressed the value addition of products to boost exports and revive the economy.

He thanked the ICCI for signing a MoU with the society for this key project and assured that his organization is ready to start more projects with ICCI on a joint venture basis.

Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President of ICCI said that the joint venture between ICCI and the private housing society was a step in the right direction to improve the economy as the Expo Centre would showcase the exportable products of Pakistan and boost exports.

He said that China and Turkey had increased their exports and tourism by organizing expos and hoped that this expo centre would also help enhance exports and tourism in Pakistan.

Shujaat Ullah Qureshi, Secretary of the private housing society said that their society was located in an ideal place and many new development projects would be completed there.

He was optimistic that the expo centre would open up many new avenues for the promotion of business, investment and exports.

Faad Waheed, Senior Vice President ICCI said that the Chamber had been making efforts for long for the establishment of a new industrial estate in the region and it would like to work with the private housing society for materialisation of this important project.

Khalid Iqbal Malik, Group Leader ICCI said that the joint venture between ICCI and the private housing society was a great step for the revival of the economy.

He said that Pakistan had great potential to boost exports and hoped that the expo centre would contribute positively towards achieving this goal.

Zafar Bakhtawari, former President ICCI and Secretary General UBG Pakistan said that the reduction in taxes on real estate would boost foreign remittances and FDI in Pakistan and stressed that the government should take measures in this regard.

He said that the expo centre would also showcase the potential of exportable products of the defence sector and increase their exports. The ICCI would also like to set up JVs with the private housing society for many other projects including hospitals, universities and colleges, he added.