In a major decision on Tuesday, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet allowed the import of used trucks, buses and tractors, enhanced the cotton cess from Rs 20 to Rs 50 per bale and decided to complete the linking of Gwadar Port with upcountry areas on war footing.
Briefing the media on ECC decisions, Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood Khan said the meeting decided to allow the import of used trucks, up to three years old, and buses and tractors up to five years old. The business community and agriculturists have been lobbying for allowing the import of used vehicles, as the prices of locally-produced vehicles are said to be much higher than that in the international market. The government has already allowed the import of used cars up to five years old.
The meeting, Khan said, also approved increasing the cotton cess from Rs 20 to Rs 50 per bale to enhance the funding for the indigenous spending on the cotton research and development. Cotton cess is paid by the spinning mills on the ginned cotton. The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association has already assured support to enhance country’s cotton output from 13 million bales to 20 million bales in the next five years.
The committee was given a presentation on the relative economics of the Gwadar Port and it was recommended that the port required link with upcountry areas for full utilisation. The meeting decided that the remaining portion of the 200km of road linking Gwadar with Rato Dero would be expedited under the next fiscal year’s development programme. The Gwadar Port offers better facilities for bulk imports than the other two ports, as bigger vessels can dock and storage is free, with no demurrage charges.
Linking the port with the mainland would provide opportunities for increasing imports and exports, Khan said. The ECC also formed a committee to streamline the poverty alleviation programmes of the National Rural Support Programme and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, he added.
