In order to compete in the global economy, high-ranking government officials have pushed the Pakistani business sector to start working on import substitution, the localization of imported products, and to promote exports.
Localization entails making necessary goods and components locally rather than continuing to rely on imports. In order to reduce the cost of energy, which now accounts for one-third of the total import bill, this would also include substituting renewable energy, such as hydroelectricity, for imported energy.
“We can only become competitive on a global basis if we establish a local edge,” stated Minister of State Malik Musadik. He was addressing a one-day seminar called “National Policy Debate on Localization for Growth,” which was put on by K-Electric and Nutshell Group (KE). In order to talk about localization, we need to define clusters, which are regions where several different types of economic activity take place at once.
According to reports, he remarked, “We expect to reduce UFGs (unaccounted for gas/line losses of gas) and the circular debt to zero in the near future, but it doesn’t mean all of our problems will be solved. There’s still a lot to do. The most crucial step is to level the playing field so that competition is restricted to areas of production and innovation.
“Electric vehicles’ initiatives would cut emissions in half and imported fuel consumption in half; only this will save us cash and create expanded chances for employment and infrastructural development in Pakistan,” said Khurram Dastagir, the federal minister for power.
Pakistan is 75 years old, and despite numerous discussions, no solutions have been found. Instead than trying to fix each other, we need to identify the issues that need fixing in order to make progress. The first step in localization is for everyone to unite around a single identity. I concur that the State is in charge of setting the course, but the country is also. The nation is split, and leaders are unsure,” said Kamran Tessori, governor of Sindh.
Syed Moonis Abdullah Alvi, the CEO of K-Electric, also provided some outstanding statistics regarding the investments being made by the business to grow its clientele, lower the percentage of power outages, and, most crucially, boost the contribution of renewable resources to power generation. KE has made investments throughout the value chain totaling Rs474 billion, and by 2030, the business would be producing 2172 Megawatts of renewable energy.
Our conviction is to reduce our reliance on imported fuels and base our generation primarily on domestic fuels. Over the next seven years, we want to invest Rs484 billion in the value chain. We think it is best to purchase domestically and promote domestic growth when there is such consistency and expected demand for equipment. This vision will be supported by the policies’ predictability, which will help to ease financial strain on the government coffers. I ask that we work together to create channels for local resources,” stated CEO Alvi.