The sick textile units of Faisalabad with annual export capacity of 1,000,715, 625 meters clothes have potential to immediately provide jobs to more than 82,000 workers and in this connection the government has taken bold decisions to create Pakistan Corporate Restructuring Company (PCRC) in order to revive the sick units on top priority basis.
Appreciating the establishment of PCRC, Rana Sikandar-e-Azam Khan President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) told that many export oriented units fell victims of circumstances due to nonstop terrorism, increase in interest rate and fuel prices coupled with global melt down during previous decade.
He said that this was a major setback to the national economy while workers have to face the specter of unemployment. He mentioned a recent decision of Lahore High Court who had allowed a leading export house Chenab Limited to revive its commercial operations as the concerned bankers were ready to reschedule their installments.
Continuing, Rana Sikandar-e-Azam told that 17,000 workers were employed in this unit before its closure. He further told that during 1990-2019, this unit alone had made exports to the tune of Rs85 billion while products worth Rs70 billion were also sold out in the domestic market.
He told that Chenab Limited also contributed Rs 1.3 billion as taxes and duties during 2000-2017. "These units are fully equipped with latest machines but were lying closed due to litigation and non-availability of fresh loans.
"As the working conditions have improved, now these units are in a position to restart their commercial activities as the concerned banks are also ready to reschedule their pending installments", he told and added that major hurdle in the revival of these units was prudential regulation "Due to non performing loans, the banks were reluctant to inject fresh capital so that these units could revive their normal economic activities and thus pay their installments in addition to contributing their role in exports.
Rana Sikandar Azam vehemently claimed that the owners of these units were honest people but they became victim of circumstances and we cannot dub them willful defaulters.
He said that the closure of these units had a negative impact on overall national economy and hence, we must support government initiatives for the creation of PCRC for immediate revival of sick units.
He stressed upon the government to immediately complete the spadework so that this Company could be made functional as soon as possible.
"It will in return help the sick units to start their productive activities, provide jobs to the millions of workers in addition to earning precious foreign exchange and contributing their role towards national kitty in the form of taxes and duties," he added.