FAISALABAD, Oct 23: The Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) is planning to set up a modern laboratory in Faisalabad.

The major aim of establishing the laboratory is to extend best possible training, certification and research and development facilities to the industry being set up at Value Addition City (VAC) and Faisalabad Industrial City (FIC).

This was stated by PCSIR chairman Dr Anwarul Haq while briefing about the overall PCSIR working during his visit to the office of Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) here on Saturday.

He said that efforts were initiated some four years ago on the directive of President Pervez Musharraf to link this institution with the industry to gear up industrialization besides improving the quality of industrial produce.

The PCSIR, he said, had developed 13,016 products and technologies out of which 11,000 had so far been sold or leased out to private entrepreneurs.

Dr Haq said that most of the innovations and inventions had been developed at the pilot project stage and could expressly be upgraded to the commercial stage with the direct involvement of private parties.

About ISO certification for exportable goods, he said the PCSIR had provided best services as out of total six ISO-17500 companies, three were linked with us. He said that a textile-testing laboratory was also being established in Lahore to issue Intertek Testing Services (ITS) to the local cloth exporters. The PCSIR was already providing testing facilities to a Singapore company for the issuance of this certificate.

He underlined the need to recycle the waste of one industry, which could be used for another industry. He said that PCSIR scientists were ready to workout the feasibility of recycling process if complete data of the industry scheduled to be established at VAC and FIC was provided.

Dr Haq also assured to extend full support to the training of the professionals. We could also prepare tailor-made courses and training programmes for a specific Industry.

About the treatment of underground water, he said the PCSIR had developed cheaper technology for reverse osmosis. The costly membrane used in this process was imported from China, he said and added that the PCSIR could negotiate with China for manufacturing this membrane locally through technology transfer. This would make this process further cheaper.

Earlier, FIEDMC chief executive officer Khurram Iftikhar informed the PCSIR chairman that the FIC would be the biggest industrial estate in Pakistan.

He said its first phase would spread over 3,500 acres of land, which would be further expanded to 8,000 acres in the second phase.

Mr Iftikhar said that the VAC would be established near Khurrianwala over 181 acres of land with modern garment units. He said the Social Security had agreed to construct multi-storey residential flats in it for the male and female workers.

Initial phase of planning and designing had been completed and work for the provision of infrastructure facilities would be started soon, he said and added that work on FIC would be taken in hand either in November or December.

He said that FIEDMC planned to hand over the plots immediately to the industrialists for the construction of civil works with the start of construction of roads and provision of other utilities. This would help industries to become fully operational with the completion of the infrastructure facilities.

He requested the PCSIR chairman to ensure close liaison with the local industry and help it to face the new challenges of WTO.

The PCSIR, he said, should also establish at least five to six model units to allure particularly the small and medium entrepreneurs to adopt it and play their dynamic role in the industrialization in the country.

Meanwhile, the PCSIR chairman also visited Faisalabad Institute of Textile & Fashion Design University (FITFDU) to explore the possibility of collaboration between the two institutions for the training of professionals.

FITFDU project director Rasheed Khalid also briefed the PCSIR chairman about the aims and objectives of this institute. Souvenirs were also presented to the visiting guests.