The Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce and Industry has lauded the government for ending the chronic prolonged electricity outages and making the country self-sufficient as the nationwide shortage in electricity was the most damaging and chronic problem facing industry across the country. Chief Executive Gujranwala Electric Power Company Muhammad Zahid Saleem had a meeting with GCCI President Mian Amir Aziz and other office bearers of the chamber and informed them that since the country was producing enough electricity, the government has directed the Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) to clear all backlog of pending new electricity connections within one month and ensure uninterrupted power supply to all categories of consumers.

General Manager Operation Haroon Rashid, Chief Engineer Ghazanfar Abbas Rizvi, Vice Presidents Naushad Ahmad Rajput, Irfan Yaqoob But, former presidents Sheikh Naseem Ahmad, Ikhlaq Ahmad But, Saeed Ahmad Taj, and other industrialists and business leaders were present at the meeting. President GCCI Mian Amir Aziz said that a country's economic and industrial growth is primarily linked with sufficient supply of energy. Pakistan's industrial growth was stagnant due to short supply of electricity. He said the government's focused efforts to make the country self-sufficient in energy were praise worthy. As the major constraint has been removed, now the country will make significant progress and provide jobs to the unemployed youth. It may be added that GEPCO is responsible to supply electricity to the nation's golden industrial triangle comprising cities of Sialkot, Gujranwala, Wazirabad, Gujrat which house about 62 percent of three million SMEs of Pakistan. It is a dynamic and entrepreneurial industrial cluster and home to Pakistan's light engineering and cottage industry.

Punjab has numerous large industrial concentrations such as textiles, leather and light engineering goods. The most famous are Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Sheikhupura, Wazirabad and Islamabad/Rawalpindi. Lahore district is one of the most diversified and Sialkot is perhaps the most dynamic and competitive of all the industrial clusters in the province. The district is the manufacturing and export hub of the country, concentrating in leather, surgical and sports goods. It is worth mentioning that two more mega hydel power projects Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric and Tarbela Fourth Extension Project are nearing completion to add about 2,300MW electricity during next six months.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2018