M/s GNL has been declared as a closed unit like M/s Dewan Farooq Motors Ltd, which is being granted Brownfield status, but the AIDC members have divergent views on the status of GNL.
The sources said that during the 26th meeting of AIDC, it was informed that M/s Ghandhara Nissan Ltd (GNL) has submitted a request for revival of their car manufacturing facility under the Brownfield investment category to Engineering Development Board (EDB) through Board of Investment (BoI). The company intends to manufacture 'Datsun' cars in Pakistan. It was brought to the notice of AIDC that car assembly line of M/s GNL is non-operational, however, the company carried out contract manufacturing for Sigma Motors of Defender jeep from 2001-02 till 2014-15 on separate assembly line with the approval of EDB. The ED paint facility was used to paint the Defender Jeep till 2015 and is being used for HCVs till date.
The DG PAMA informed the AIDC that the Brownfield category was created mainly for revival of shutdown units. He emphasized that partial operation of ED paint facility was also in the knowledge of high-level committee formulated by the government of Pakistan under the chairmanship of the then minister for water and power for finalization of ADP 2016-21 which can be reconfirmed from ADP document as the names of Ghandhara Nissan Motors Ltd and M/s Dewan Farooq Motors Ltd are also mentioned as non-operational in the ADP. He emphasized that the make has not been produced in Pakistan since 2010 and the revival may be considered in the national interest and the case may be recommended for approval of incentives under Brownfield investment category. The representative from M/s Honda Atlas Cars Ltd supported the proposal and representative of BoI also endorsed the grant of Brownfield status to the company.
The CEO M/s Indus Motor Company, CEO M/s Al-Haj FAW Motors and representative of M/s Thal Engineering were of the view that the plant cannot be considered as non-operational since their ED paint facility is active and was used for Defender jeeps and is currently being used for HCVs. Shariq Sohail, CEO Rubatech, argued that the plant cannot be termed as completely non-operational in current circumstances; however, amicable solution is needed from the governments' side.
Representatives of EDB informed the AIDC that at the policy formulation stage, the word 'plant' was replaced with 'assembly facilities' in ADB 2016-17 in view of proposed revival of closed facilities like Nissan. The CEO Indus Motor Company emphasized to record reservation as a member and said that deviation from the policy, if any, should be discouraged in view of similar requests expected from other companies in future.
The chairman PAAPAM, chairman Pakistan Road Safety Association and other participants were of the view that technical team comprising MoI&P/EDB, FBR, BoI, MVRDE and PMTDF will carry out physical verification of assembly/manufacturing facilities of the firm and recommended their qualification under the Brownfield category.
After detailed discussion, the AIDC decided that a team would visit the assembly plant facility and report t o the committee to take an informed decision.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017