By our correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Yasuhiko Shinagawa, Senior Researcher, Japan Development Company Service Ltd and JICA mission member has suggested establishment of an exclusive organisation for the development of auto sector in Pakistan.
He was speaking at a seminar arranged by the Engineering Development Board (EDB) in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) here on Saturday. The Japanese expert underlined the need of coordinated efforts by the government and private sector for achieving the target of producing five lakh cars in the next five years.
“The government has to improve infrastructure including roads for doubling car manufacturing in the country,” he said, adding it would also depend on increase in the income of people with better taxation system and improvement in inspection procedures.
Referring to his visit to 20 vendor factories in the country, he pointed out their weaknesses in human resource, technology and quality control. He suggested to the vendor industry to enter into joint ventures for quick technology transfer rather than making efforts for acquiring technology, which was time-consuming.
Takashi Matsuo, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business Administration, Tokyo Metropolitan University spoke on comparison between integral type auto manufacturing and modular type manufacturing.
Earlier, Abdul Hafeez Chaudhry, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Industries, Production and Special Initiatives appreciated the role of JICA in industrial development of the country. Abdul Hafeez said JICA had provided sincere assistance for economic development of Pakistan, which was missing in other cases.
Takao Kaibara, Resident Representative JICA, in his opening remarks, explained the purpose of the seminar, saying its main objective was to see whether Pakistani businesses were competing with foreign markets or locally with foreign firms.
The seminar was attended by the office-bearers of PAMA, APMA, PAAPAM and senior officials of EDB. Majority of the participants were of the view that the seminar made a substantial contribution to exploring most appropriate and effective avenues towards the goal set by Vision 2030 and Auto Industry Development Programme (AIDP). The participants also tried to determine solid directions of automotive development in Pakistan.