ISLAMABAD: A Belarus delegation headed by Sergey Romanov of OJSC MAZ Minsk Automobile Plant, called on Minister of State and Chairman Board of Investment Saleem H. Mandviwalla to explore investment opportunities in the field of assembly and manufacturing of heavy vehicles in Pakistan.
The Belarus delegation showed keen interest in production of tractors and other vehicles in Pakistan due to lower cost of production, lower taxes and cheap labour. The local industry itself is developed which is an added advantage to the investors.
The major interest of the Belarusian Company was to collaborate with the Pakistan Military organizations in the production of heavy vehicles. In this regards they were already in contact with Pakistan Army.
The Minister of State/Chairman BOI apprised the delegation that Pakistan had one of the lowest motorization levels (8 vehicles per 1000 persons) in Asia compared to India (11), Sri Lanka (25), and Malaysia (641) indicating a domestic market rife with growth potential.
The removal of 5% excise duty will enhance sales growth and fall in steel prices has massively reduced the cost of production of vehicles, he noted.
The Engineering Development Board enlightened the delegates on the subject and apprised that they were actively implementing the Auto Industry Development Programme (AIDP) to achieve the following targets: - increase the GDP contribution of the automotive sector to 5.6%, - boost car production capacity to half a million units - attract an investment of USD3 billion - reach an auto export target of USD 650 million.
The Minsk Automobile Plant is a state-run automotive manufacturer association in Belarus, one of the largest in Eastern Europe. It manufactures heavy-duty trucks, buses, trolleybuses, road tractors and semi-trailers for semi-trailer trucks, and cranes. MAZ was, and possibly is, the worlds largest manufacturer of TELs (Transporter-Erector-Launchers) for many of the world's mobile ballistic missiles, from the widely proliferated MAZ-543 used to carry and launch the Scud B through to the recent Topol M's impressive 8-axle TEL.
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