LAHORE, October 30 —A delegation of the RUDA Industrial Association, led by Chairman Muhammad Kamran, visited the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The delegation met with LCCI President Faheem Rr Rehman Saigol and shared their concerns.
The delegation members said that 20% charges of DC value are being taken for commercialization of industrial land, which is too high, and no proper facilities are being provided in return. They said that instead of industrial land being affordable, it has become very expensive and these extra charges are creating more difficulties for investors.
They added that development charges are also being demanded from already established industries. Moreover, the industrial area in RUDA has not yet been officially declared, due to which investors are hesitant to set up industries there.
Former LCCI President Muhammad Ali Mian, former Senior Vice President Ali Husam Asghar, former Vice Presidents Mian Zahid Javaid and Adnan Khalid Butt, Executive Committee Members Umar Sarfraz, Shouban Akhtar, Irfan Ahmad Qureshi, Syed Salman Ali, and Amna Randhawa were also present. Delegation members including Muhammad Hassan Butt, Alamdar Bajwa, Amir Iftikhar and Hafiz Makhdoom Ali Shiraz attended the meeting as well.
LCCI President Faheem Ur Rehman Saigol said that the Lahore Chamber will forward the concerns and recommendations of the RUDA Industrial Association to the relevant ministers and will work for their solution. He said that high taxes, cost of doing business, and electricity tariffs have already made business operations difficult, and such additional charges further increase the burden on industry.
Former LCCI President Muhammad Ali Mian said that the business community has a different vision. There are many issues in RUDA, but efforts will be made to resolve them soon. He added that recent floods have also caused serious problems for the business community in RUDA, but the government is working on this.