He said unfortunately the export has been focused on marble processing instead of saving our natural recourse which is being dispersed by means of applying centuries old mining method using dynamites.
Out of 100 tons value-added marble, about 60 tons wasted during processing and only 40 tons come in use. We had sent model queries to Smeda about two and a half years back and the Peshawar zone is working on it and we are quite hopeful about its success.
He said wire rope or any other latest technology should be used for square mining by acquiring it from China or India and foreign experts shout be provided security at mining sites.
He said import of artificial tiles also damaging our local industry. The import include porcelain, glazed, grannito tiles, etc, from Indonesia, China, Italy, Malaysia, Spain and Dubai.
These tiles have no compatibility with our natural and long life marble tiles. We produce finest quality of tile in the world namely onyx. Golden, champagne, black and various other types are also found in our country.
He urged the government to take necessary measures against these artificial tiles, which are being sold at quite high rates, he said.
He said another main problem hindering development of the industry is the unannounced loadshedding. For the past three months, it occurred on regular basis from 11am to 1pm in the Pak Colony market and Site Industrial Area, grounding to a halt all labour activities, delays shipments and sometimes cancellation of orders, thereby, causing a labour loss of around Rs 0.3 million daily.
He said the KESC charged us Rs 6500 per kilowatt. He called for improvement in the system and installation of new transformer.