Lahore, October 15, 2018 (PPI-OT): Pakistan Chemical Manufacturers Association (PCMA) has called for joint ventures with Saudi Arabia in petro-chemical projects to make the local chemical sector a self-reliant industry. Mr. Iqbal Kidwai, General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of PCMA, in a press statement issued here today observed that in response to a recent visit of Pakistan’s Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia, the Saudi investors had expressed interest to expand their investment in Pakistan. He said that Saudi investment as well as its collaborative experience with world’s multinational players of the Petro-chemical sector could be very useful for promoting petro-chemical industry in Pakistan.
Mr. Iqbal Kidwai said that chemical industry forms the fabric of the modern world; it converts basic raw materials into more than 70,000 different products, not only for industry, but also for all the consumer goods. He highlighted vast potentials possessed by Pakistan in sector of chemical manufacturing and processing. He told that PCMA vision is to transform Chemical Industry of Pakistan from an import oriented to an export oriented Industry.
He lamented that due to absence of a Naphtha Petro-chem Cracker Complex in the country, down-stream industry of Pakistan was dependent on imports. Pakistan’s chemical imports constitute around 17% of the total import bill, he said and pointed out that Pakistan was spending over USD 5-6 billion every year on import of chemicals with an average increase up to 5-8% in the coming years.
He said that despite enormous potential, the sector could not be tapped to its maximum due to some major constraints that include; high investment, dependence on expensive imports, lack of industrial infrastructure and technology, lack of financial resources, energy shortages and weak trade policies all are the obstacles that ultimately result in the sluggish growth of chemical industry. Iqbal Kidwai said that the given constraints could be overcome through a tripartite collaboration of Saudi, Chinese and Pakistani investors by sharing each other’s technology, knowledge and investment in the field of chemical industry He also urged government to facilitate local investors in terms of soft loans and foreign investors in terms of obtaining land and machinery for production of value-added chemicals in Pakistan.
For more information, contact:
Pakistan Chemical Manufacturers Association (PCMA)
407-Eden Heights, Jail Road, Gulberg, Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-35786867
E-mail: bds@pcma.org.pk
Website: www.pcma.org.pk