PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan during his visit to District Haripur on Wednesday performed ground breaking of an industrial unit (bottling plant) of Turkish Multi-National beverages Company, CCI.
This bottling plant would consist of 29 acres of land, and is expected to bring in an investment of $ 50 million and create over 700 employment opportunities. This is the 7th plant of CCI Company in Pakistan and first ever plant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the banner of the company.
The chief minister also inaugurated a private sector Steel Plant at Hattar Special Economic Zone established with an initial investment of $ 50 million and having an annual production capacity 0.5 million ton. The plant is expected to create hundreds of job opportunities for the local population.
Provincial Ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Akbar Ayub, Special Assistant to CM on Industry Abdul Karim, Turk Ambassador Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul, Management of CCI Pakistan and high ups of industry department attended the ground breaking ceremony.
Addressing the ground breaking ceremony, the chief minister welcomed Turkish investment in the province and said that this initiative would pave the way for bringing in more Turkish investment in the province in the future. He added that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa offered conducive environment for both local and foreign investors which was undoubtedly, a result of business friendly policies of the incumbent provincial government.
Talking about the incentives being extended by the provincial government to investors, the chief minister said that providing facilities to investors through one window operation was an important step of the provincial government to attract more and more private investment.
The chief minister said that besides industrial sector, there were ample opportunities in tourism and energy sectors of the province adding that the incumbent provincial government had put the province on the track of development by promoting those sectors. The incumbent government unveiled a historic and pro-people budget for the upcoming financial year which also offers tax concessions and other incentives to private investors with the aim to attract more private investment and create employment opportunities; he remarked.
Mahmood Khan said that the provincial government was taking concrete and result oriented steps for boosting industrial activities as per the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the government had devised a comprehensive industrial road map in that regard. He said that Economic Zones were being established across the province and multiple projects in Communications sector were in progress so as to connect those economic zones to make the province a hub of industrial activities. He added that the incumbent government paid special attention to both rehabilitation of sick industrial units and setting up of new units.
Touching upon the Hattar Special Economic Zone, Mahmood Khan said this economic zone has vital importance due to its strategic location and that’s why the economic zone was being further extended adding that phase-II of the zone would be inaugurated very soon.
Mahmood Khan added that credit of fast track industrial activities in the province went to Prime Minister Imran Khan who provided the vision for attracting private sector investment. He termed the first ever industrial unit of Turkish company as a historical event for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and assured the investors that provincial government would not only welcome the Turkish investment in the province but would also extend its all-out support to facilitate them.
He lauded the efforts of KP Board of Investment, Economic Zone Development and Management Company and entire team of industry department for attracting private sector investment to the province. Turkish Ambassador Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul, General Manager CCI Pakistan, Ahmad Kursad, Regional Director CCI Pakistan, Ihsan Iqbal and other also addressed the ceremony.