He was talking to Ms Samita Khawar Director Public Sector and Government practice, Frost and Sullivian who visited FCCI to discuss the legal and institutional framework for the new industrial zones. He said that Faisalabad being hub of the industrial sector has made phenomenal growth during last 100 years.
The colonial rulers had allocated industrial areas outside Karkhana Bazaar but the influx of population immediate after independence paved way for the developed many industrial clusters all around Faisalabad including Sarghodha Road, Jhang Road, Samundri Road, Sheikhupura Road and Abdhullah Pur etc.
"This was actually a mushroom growth but in later phase these areas were acknowledge as industrial clusters by the government and local administration", he said and added that it was about 30 years ago that first planned small Industrial Estate was developed on Sarghodha Road near Nalka Kohala. "The Samundhri Road area was dominated by the printing and processing units which contributed a lot for the development of Pakistan and Faisalabad", he said and added that after its saturation this area was also dominated by residences and commercial plazas. This transformation created civic problems as the industry department failed to give legal frame work to it.
The civil administration also mounted pressure on the industrialists to shift their units from this area while expansion of industrial units was also prohibited under section 144. He said that the untapped growth has yet huge potential and most of the industrial units established their exports units about 10 to 12 kilometres away from the city at Khurrianwala where cheap land, electricity and gas were available in addition to open drains to discharge industrial effluent.
Other outskirts also experienced the same phenomena and Millat Industrial Estate was developed when the industrialists of Sargodha road were forced to shift their units from the thickly populated areas. The Punjab government established FEDMIC about 15 years ago that developed a value addition city on Khurrianwala Chak Jhumra Road while a mega project of M3 Industrial Estate was also launched during the process of industrial development.
He said that the role of industrial department was pathetic and arrogant throughout this process and it failed to provide any relief to the industrial sector as no legal and institutional framework was provided to the well established industrial clusters.
In most of the industrial areas, the industrialists have to develop basic infrastructure from their own resources as industries department flatly refused to provide them any facility unless and until the government formally notifies these areas as Industrial Estate.
It is very surprising that the industrialists developed huge infrastructure. Government departments also provided various utilities but these areas have not yet been notified as industrial areas. According to conservative estimate the Faisalabad has potential for the establishment of new industrial units. The only planned Industrial Estate is M3 which is sprawling over 4500 areas of land along motorway M3.
Engineer Ahmed Hasan told that the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) has conducted a study and proposed a special Economic Zone over 50,000 areas of land adjoining the existing industrial areas.
"We strongly recommend that the industry department should give a clear cut policy for the immediate reorganization of existing industrial clusters into recognized industrial areas so that the industry department could initiate development project with provision of necessary infrastructure in these neglected areas.
Similarly, a ban should also be clamped on developing housing and commercial units in the declared and notified Industrial areas to avoid repetition of the process of relocation of industries from these areas. He told that Faisalabad has two main drains one in Eastern Side and another on Western Side. The Western Side drain namely Paharang has a water treatment pond near Chakera while another is badly needed for Eastern Side on Madhowana Drain.
Ms Samita Khawar termed this meeting very productive, adding that she will again visit Faisalabad with a comprehensive questionnaire to discuss and finalize recommendations about the legal and institutional framework for the industrial zones.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017