A delegation of the Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers (PALSP) called on Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar this afternoon. The meeting was also joined by Mr. Razzak Dawood, Advisor of Prime Minister on Commerce and Trade and senior officers of Ministry of Industries and Production.
During meeting, PALSP delegation briefed the Minister on installed capacity, total capacity, and production of steel units across the country. The steel sector representatives also informed the chair on prices of scrape, steel bars and mechanism to lower the cost of the steel products, as well as, discussed their concerns on incentives to steel industry located in FATA/PATA areas.
The members of PALSP suggested to introduce tax credit for provision of steel bars for Prime Minister's low-cost housing scheme to benefit local market and overall affordablity of house. The delegation also highlighted the possibility of increase in export demand of steel related products in region due to high quality manufacturing of steel bars.
The Minister indicated that the government is working on comprehensive long-term roadmap for the local steel industry which could help meet the growing domestic demand. He said structural reforms was imperative to make Pakistan’s steel sector globally competitive. He also highlighted that mining and utilization of local iron ore would be incorporated into policy framework in line with vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He elaborated that this package would reduce import bill on raw material and generate employment opportunities for local people.
The Advisor assured that the government would start working on framework of steel policy in September 2021. He said that the policy would focus on next 10-15 year long term financing and incentives to the steel industry.
At the conclusion, the PALSP delegation thanked and appreciated the efforts of the Minister and Advisor for assuring support for growth, development and revival of the country’s steel sector. They also called for mutual efforts to mitigate challenges faced by steel industry.
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