Deputy Commissioner Faisalabad, Salman Ghanni, said that Faisalabad has been transformed into a dynamic, vibrant and aesthetically developed metropolis and the exemplary cooperation of local business and industrialist community in fine tuning the development projects is highly appreciable.
He was addressing the annual dinner of the All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA) which was also attended by the government officials, businessmen and local elite. Deputy Commissioner said that there is always room for improvement but it is hard fact that Federal as well as Provincial Governments have fully concentrated on the infrastructure development of this city with strong institutional, financial and administrative support to facilitate the masses.
He said that Faisalabad has best and state-of-the-art Institute of Cardiology, Asia's biggest children hospital and a burn unit. He said that a breast cancer clinic is also being established with an estimated cost of Rs 60 Million. He said that the capacity of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of DHQ is being doubled. All Tehsils of this district have the facility of dialysis which is not available even in most of the district head quarters. He said that just 5 to 7 years ago Jhal Khanuana Chowk was a jammed crossing but after the construction of over head bridges and underpasses, the traffic is now moving smoothly and without any interruption.
Sheikhupura road has also been completed. We are also going to start Khurrianwala, Jaranwala road for which the two projects of two proposed underpasses have been delayed. He said that 100 km stretch of Karachi-Lahore motorway will pass through the three Tehsils of Faisalabad including Jaranwala, Khurrianwala and Tandlianwala. He told that this project is in its final stages and is expected to be commissioned by March next year.
Regarding the establishment of new industrial units, he said that M-3 Industrial Estate has one of the best and state-of-the-art facilities. It has also been declared Special Economic Zone under CPEC, he said and added that Faisalabad has its own international Airport with 116 domestic and international flights per week. He said that all these indicators are positive and clearly indicate that Faisalabad is growing at much faster pace which is very encouraging for the overall economy of Pakistan. Continuing Deputy Commissioner said that service road from Abdullahpur to Gatwala is under construction.
The water problems have also been resolved during the first phase of water supply scheme as 155 million gallon water is being supplied to 750,000 consumers. He told that phase two of this project is expected to start in January next.
He said that no doubt the Jaranwala-Khurrianwala road is very important as most of the export oriented textile units are situated on it. He told that its estimated cost has been worked around at Rs 180 million. "Most of the work on it has already been completed while asphalt work is yet to be completed," he said. He said that with this appreciable development, no one can stop process of prosperity which is our ultimate objective.
Deputy Commissioner Salman Ghanni also lauded the work done by the Hajj Committee of APTMA and said that security issues of expressway are also being resolved on permanent basis as two new police stations are being established on it in addition to the extensive patrolling on it by local police.
He assured about the issue of shifting toll plaza from Khurrianwala towards Sheikhupura road and said that it will require a separate meeting to sort out the modalities of this shifting. He also assured to rename the Kashmir Road and Kashmir "Pull" as APTPMA Road and APTPMA Bridge.
MNA Mian Abdul Manan also told that the government is trying its best to resolve the problem of the business community. He said that a committee was constituted which has already started work to finalize the proposals to settle down the problems of textile sector on Permanent basis. He said that there is visible disparity between the gas rates within the country and government is also trying to settle this issue amicably.
He told that his priority was to dualize the Faisalabad-Chiniot road. He further claimed that the export is gradually picking up and during last three months, it recorded an increase of 13, 12, and 16 per cent. He said that it also indicates that the economy was on the right track despite of the scathing criticism by few myopic elements.
He said that government is trying to equalize the gas rate across the country. Similarly problem of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) will also be resolved very soon. He said that the present government will make a clean sweep in the coming elections only because of its excellent performance.
Engineer Rizwan Ashraf former president FCCI demanded that Faisalabad is contributing heavily towards National exchequer but it is denied of its due share in the fiscal allocation. Mian Aftab Ahmed central chairman APTPMA disclosed that the industrial sector was getting 33 per cent system gas which has been denied from first December and now they would have to totally depend on costly RLNG.
Outgoing Chairman Engineer Ihtesham Javaid in his brief address also highlighted the various issues and claimed that sale tax refund has been accumulated to the tune of Rs 50 billion that has further complicated the liquidity crunch. Earlier in his address of welcome Sheikh Khalid Habib Regional Chairman APTPMA told that APTPMA was enjoying good relationship with the Faisalabad administration.
However, he demanded that the APTPMA should be given due representation in different BODs of public sector institutions for policy making. He particularly mentions the services of the senior member Sheikh Muhammad Amjad who is voluntarily facilitating the Hajj pilgrimages for the last many years from the platform of this association. He said his serve must be acknowledged. He demanded that Khurrianwala-Jaranwala road should be reconstructed on top priority based. He also demanded renaming of Kashmir road as APTPMA road and Kashmir Bridge as APTPMA Bridge.
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