Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) Executive Committee Member Raja Adeel Ashfaq Saturday urged the Punjab government to establish a steel mills in the province and use Rajua Sadaat (Chiniot) iron reserves as raw material.
Raja Ashfaq, in a statement here, said the shutdown of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) was a national loss as substantial foreign exchange was spent on of 1.5 to 2 million tonnes of hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel per annum.
The establishment of steel mills in Punjab with the help of Rajua iron reserves would stregthen the national economy, he added.
He urged the federal government to take effective steps for tranform public sector enterprises (PSEs) in general and Pakistan Steel Mills in particular, into profitable entities.
In the advanced economies like the United States, United Kingdom and Japan, he said, the role of PSEs was minimal and private sector was the most important instrument of socio-economic prosperity, and there was continued growth of privately-run corporations.
The Lahore Chamber’s EC member suggested formation of a committee of experts from public and private sectors to revisit strategy and adopt methods which provide a new impetus to the PSEs.
