GUJRAT: The district government has expedited the efforts to establish a new industrial estate area in Gujrat as two sites for the project have been proposed to the Gujrat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GTCCI).

The process of land acquisition will start once the site is selected.

A joint team comprising Gujrat DCO Liaquat Ali Chattha, GTCCI president Mian Muhammad Ijaz, PML-N MPA Imran Zafar, revenue officials and other representatives of the business community inspected the proposed sites along Gujrat-Sargodha Road near Saroki canal and Bhulesar Mor along Gujrat-Bhimbher Road.

District government officials informed chamber office-bearers that 280 acres of land had been earmarked for acquisition near Saroki site whereas 1,409 kanals of land was available at the Bhimbher Road site.

They said it was up to the chamber leadership to choose the site as the provincial government had already given a green signal to district authorities for the project.

Official sources said the GTCCI was more interested in the site along Sargodha Road while it had also expressed its desire to allocate the land as a second option along Bhimbher Road for the third phase of the industrial estate area.

The city’s industry is in dire need of such an infrastructure where latest facilities are available to the business community.

Hundreds of manufacturing units are functional in residential areas as the town has only one industrial estate area which was established over four decades ago.

GTCCI senior member Afzal Gondal said that Gujrat was lagging far behind than Sialkot and Gujranwala in terms of industrial growth.

The DCO informed the GTCCI officials that the government planned to construct more approach roads for the second phase of the industrial estate area in Gujrat.

He asked the chamber leadership to inform the district government about the selected site as early as possible so as to include the project in the next fiscal year’s development programme.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2016