PHOTO: REUTERS

PESHAWAR: The provincial government on Thursday claimed that it had helped bring in some Rs10.5 billion as an investment in the industrial sector of the province creating thousands of jobs.



This was stated by Special Assistant to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Abdul Karim on Thursday as he addressed a news conference about the provincial industry department’s performance over the past year.



Karim stated that as many as 53 new industrial units have been set up in large and small industrial estates across the province. Moreover, he said that around 67 closed or sick industrial units have been revived in Peshawar, Hattar, Gadoon and Nowshera industrial estates.



This, he said, has had the cumulative effect of creating 6,911 jobs in the past year.



“To equip our youth with technical education, about 30,000 youngsters have been trained in various trades and vocations,” he said, adding that some 500 technical teachers have also been trained.



To ensure that these programmes result in gainful employment, he said that traditional outdated courses have been changed to competency-based programmes.



For rapid industrialization in the province, the special assistant said that work on the Rashakai Special Economic Zone is underway. He added that soon, the groundbreaking ceremony for the zone will be performed and industrial plots will be sold to investors.



Noting that the provincial government is keen to facilitate local and foreign investors, he said that they have put out an investment-friendly policy. This, he said, has helped attract investors to the cement, fertiliser and garment sectors.



Responding to a question, Karim said that the provincial government is keen on ushering in a new era of economic and business development in the erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (Fata). For this purpose, the long-standing issue of power supply to the Mohmand Marble City has been resolved after a key grid station was energized using a 220 MU line.



With power now available in the Mohmand Industrial Estate, Karim said that construction on several industrial units there has begun.



He further said that the government has launched Rs1.1 billion Insaf Rozgar Scheme for residents of the newly-merged tribal districts whereby youngsters are provided interest-free loans to set up businesses.



The schemes, he said, have been launched in small industrial estates of Bajour, Shakas (Khyber Tribal District), Dara Adam Khel, and Nawrak (North Waziristan).



Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th, 2019.