UAE firm to set up car manufacturing plant in Pakistan
Staff Report
LAHORE: A renowned UAE company, Coastal Group, has shown keen interest in setting up international standard car manufacturing plant with an initial investment of $1 billion and a hefty amount for purchase of land has been transferred into Pakistan.
The proposed project will provide employment opportunities to thousands of people. However, some circles having vested interests are hatching conspiracies against this project of extreme public importance.
This was stated by the Director Commercial Coastal Group, Hafiz Ayub Ismail after his return from three-day tour of Germany.
Ayub said that government’s measures to attract investment were inadequate as investors were facing technical obstacles in investment projects, which were creating doubts in their minds about their premium.
Ayub said that investment during the last two years was predominantly made in unproductive sectors of telecom and construction. But the environment should be improved to promote investment in productive sectors so that poverty could be mitigated and the economy could be put on right the track, he emphasised
He said that big manufacturing plants were essential to start production projects on a massive scale. He added that the investors coming to Pakistan were facing difficulties in acquiring land due to painstakingly slow and lengthy structural procedures.
Ayub complained that bureaucracy is also playing a non-cooperative role in this regard and demanded of the government as well as national media to take notice of it. He called upon President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to give special attention to production projects set up through foreign investment and besides that both the leaders should direct the Board of Investment to dispose of the problems faced by foreign investors in a specific timeframe.