Contractors seek deferment of e-tendering

PESHAWAR: The contractors belonging to North Waziristan have sought deferment of the e-tendering for some time as they are facing difficulties in availing the facility due to unavailability of the Internet in the district.

Speaking at a press conference here, North Waziristan Contractors Association General Secretary Niazuddin said that they were not against the introduction of the e-bidding, but they wanted that the process of the e-bidding should be postponed because there was no Internet in North Waziristan.

They said that few months ago the chief minister visited the district and announced that the government was going to introduce the e-tendering for the development projects. They said they were not against it, but they only sought time.

The contractors said there was Internet in the district and the e-tendering was not possible, adding that it would also affect the development process in the militancy-hit district.

KP businessmen invited to exhibition in Somalia

Abdifitah Abdul Kadir Osman, deputy commercial Attaché of Embassy of Somalia, on Saturday invited business community of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to an exhibition in Somalia.

Abdifitah Abdul Kadir Osman, speaking at a meeting with cabinet and members of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) here at the Chamber House, said that the mutual trade and business relations could further be strengthened by participation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa business community.

He said the exhibition was scheduled to be held in June this year.

Abdul Kadir Osman said that trade volume between Somalia and Pakistan stood at $43 million, which could easily be enhanced up to $500 million.

He asked the KP businessmen to participate in the forthcoming exhibition in Somalia to strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations between the two countries.

Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Faiz Muhammad Faizi, Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry former president Zahidullah Shinwari, FPCCI regional office chief coordinator, Muhammad Afzal, senior vice president, Engr Saad Khan Zahid, vice president Haris Mufti, executive committee members were present at the meeting.

Faiz Muhammad stressed the need for robust trade and business ties between Pakistan and Somalia and hailed the gesture of the Somali diplomat. He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was lucrative destination for the foreign investors wherein they could export in pharmaceutical, PVC pipes, steel, aluminum, match, textile and food commodities, along with fresh fruits from the province.