Shafay promises making province hub of trade

LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Industries and Trade Chaudhry Shafay Hussain Wednesday visited Punjab Board of Investment & Trade Office.

Punjab Board of Investment & Trade (PBIT) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jalal Hassan briefed the minister on the performance of the PBIT and its future line of action. The minister was informed that 18 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have been established in the province while additional 6 SEZs will be established during the current year.

Shafay Hussain underscored the need to bring new investment in the province so as to create new employment opportunities in the province. He vowed that we would make the Punjab province as the real hub of Investment.

He called for arranging road shows in such countries which can attract investment adding that Punjab Board of Investment & Trade Board of Directors would be activated soon. Such persons of calibre would be introduced in Punjab Board of Investment & Trade who can play their vigorous role to bring new investment in the province.

The minister directed to persuade the solar panel companies for preparing solar panels at the local level. Chief Executive Officer Punjab Board of Investment & Trade Jalal Hassan apprised that 3,685 NOCs have been issued in the six Business Facilitation Centres being established in Punjab till now while Punjab Board of Investment & Trade has provided facilitation for $6.38 billion investment since 2009 to date.

Gorchani orders expediting work on iron ore, coal projects in Chiniot

Punjab Minister for Mines Sardar Sher Ali Gorchani Wednesday held a meeting with key officials of the Mines and Minerals department at his office. Various aspects of mining and quarrying, particularly focusing on enhancing transparency in revenue generation and leasing processes were discussed in the meeting.

The directives were also issued to expedite the completion of iron ore and coal projects in Chiniot. The minister expressed his gratitude towards Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for choosing him as minister for Mines and Minerals Department (MMD).

Highlighting the potential of Southern Punjab's mineral-rich areas, the minister proposed utilising revenue from salt mines to bolster the province's economic condition.

Director General of Mines Rana Abdul Shakoor, Commissioner of Mines Labor Welfare and Chief Inspector of Mines, Riaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Additional Secretary Ashfaq Khan, and Managing Director Punjab Mineral, Zubair Hussain Kharral also attended the meeting.