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Thursday March 28, 2024

Effective legislation stressed for long-term changes

By Our Correspondent
September 14, 2019

LAHORE: A seminar for the stakeholders of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) was held at the Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB) of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) recently.

According to a press release, the session focused on industry readiness for manufacturing of BEVs in Pakistan. It featured the latest research and viability of the concept, in addition to addressing policy and manufacturing challenges.

The seminar was part of the research efforts being spearheaded at LUMS by faculty members, Dr Muhammad Shakeel Sadiq Jajja and Dr Syed Zahoor Hassan, with the support of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Energy Centre, Islamabad.

Dr Haritha Saranga from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) participated in the event via Skype. The event was attended by automobile manufacturers, representatives from industry and trade associations and a number of entrepreneurs, academics, and policymakers pioneering the electric vehicle concept in Pakistan and abroad.

The seminar was inaugurated by Dr Alnoor Bhimani, honourary dean, SDSB, who emphasised the need for effective policymaking and legislation to enact long term changes. Dr Syed Zahoor Hassan then led the audience through the basics of battery electric vehicle technology and various technical details. Vehicle market segmentation and global trends in the US, Europe, and China were also discussed.

Dr Saranga pointed out the massive cost of oil imports in India, and how the government had been adopting policies to promote the use of battery electric vehicles through subsidies and incentives for local manufacturers.

Dr Jajja pointed out existing policy challenges, including the prohibition on registration of electric powered vehicles in Punjab. He talked of the importance of considering extreme temperature variations in Pakistan, and shed light on the battery manufacturing processes, step-wise localisation techniques, and importing and assembling batteries for BEVs. The EV30@30 campaign, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with an objective of having 30 percent electric vehicles on roads by 2030, was also discussed.

Dr. Naveed Arshad, Dr Fiaz Chaudhry and Nauman Ahmad Zaffar represented the LUMS Energy Institute and pointed out the economic impact of BEV technology, the need to give incentives to local manufacturers, adopt best practices from around the world, and gather all stakeholders on common fora to ensure relevant policymaking with realistic aims and objectives.

An open discussion round catalysed the seminar, with suggestions for development of smart grids, importing cells and batteries, challenges being faced by local motor manufacturers, and levels of industrial readiness to contribute to the BEV manufacturing value chain framework.

PBIT, ICD: Islamic Corporation for Development (ICD) and Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) stressed the need of establishments to work together for the development of Pakistan and to brand Pakistan as an ideal destination for investments due to its liberal investment regime and rising economic opportunities.

The consensus was developed in a meeting held between the management of Punjab Board of Investment and Trade and Aamir Husain Khan, Director Financial Institutions Development of Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector (ICD), which is a major institutional investor as well as an economic arm of OIC.

PBIT CEO Jahanzeb Burana in his presentation showcased the entire business plan of PBIT which consisted of all the projects in its pipeline, briefed them regarding the major initiatives taken by PBIT specially in Tech and Healthcare as well as the sectoral overview to apprise of the investment opportunities available in different sectors. PBIT CEO enlightened them about the International Investment Award that PBIT has received in UAE due to its relentless efforts for the enhancement of investment and trade.