He said that as many as 34 textile companies have shifted their businesses to other countries during the last few years due to power and gas shortage, frequent price hike in the inputs and prevailing deteriorating law and order situation in the country. He apprehended that these factors are not good for the economy and depriving the workforce of their earnings by huge job cuts, the ugly facts appeared as the government has failed in providing the basic facilities to the industries in the country.
He narrated that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of the economy was the lowest in the region which needs to be pick up at the rate of 8 percent per annum to absorb 230 million youth over next 35 years entering into labour market at 3.2 percent every year but jobs provision is less than 1.4% per year. With such a deficit in employment generation, he questioned, how we take benefit of the human capital which if not utilised, will prove as demographic disaster for the country.
He said that private sector is the engine of growth and the prime employment provider, thus there was only way for providing consistent and cheep supply of electricity to keep the industrial wheel running, where hydrel resource was the best competitive option. He pointed out that China and India had constructed hundreds of the dams on their river heads and we were still at confrontation to take a better start.