The Tribune – Fund crunch stalls work at Attari ICP

Perneet Singh, Tribune News Service

Attari (Amritsar), November 29 Even as the euphoria around Pakistan ‘granting’ MFN status to India didn’t last long with the neighbouring country swiftly taking a U-turn, the Integrated Check Post (ICP), another move which would have boosted bilateral trade between the two countries, has got delayed.

According to sources, paucity of funds has led to delay in completion of the check post coming up here on 130 acres of land at a cost of Rs 150 crore. The foundation stone of the ICP was laid by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on February 20, 2010, and it was expected to come up within 14 months.

Later, the deadline was extended to June 30. However, sources said the way things were moving at present, the project was now likely to be completed by February next year, which means a delay of 10 months. Sources said all the major works at the ICP had been completed, but the delay in release of funds had hit the project at the fag end when it was being given finishing touches.

Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said the ICP project was being taken care of by the Union Government and they themselves were eagerly awaiting its completion. “We have been following it up with the officials concerned and will do it again when the Joint Secretary, Border Management, visits Attari tomorrow. We have also urged the authorities to at least provide us temporary parking space by the time the project is completed.”

Once operational, the ICP would give a major boost to the bilateral trade between the two countries. The ICP will be a completely sanitised zone with dedicated terminals for both passengers and cargo. It will provide adequate customs and immigration counters, ultra-modern scanner, metal detectors, CCTVs, passenger amenities and other related facilities such as currency exchange, internet facility, warehouse/cold storage, quarantine laboratory, banks, isolation bay, parking, cafeteria and other public utilities in a single modern complex.

The passenger terminal will be a double-storey structure and have an area of 9,658 sq m. It will have a capacity of 1.5 million passengers per year. Similarly, the cargo terminal will be spread over 4,697 sq m. It will have a static capacity of 800 trucks (import) and 320 trucks (export).

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111130/punjab.htm#1

The Tribune – Manmohan-Gilani Summit; Taking the politics out of economics

While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is having a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts at the 17th SAARC summit including Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Maldives, it is his summit meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani early Thursday morning which is being awaited the most.

Most expect some clarity to emerge on Pakistan’s decision to grant India the Most Favoured Nation status for trade.

Since its recent announcement, Pakistan has waffled over the actual status, claiming that what Gilani’s cabinet had given was an “in principle’ clearance while the modalities are still to be worked out. Foreign Minister SM Krishna’s meeting with Hina Rabbani Khar, his Pakistani counterpart, on the sidelines of the SAARC foreign minister’s meeting, indicated that the mood remained positive. Khar talked of the “trust deficit shrinking.” But clarity on the MFN status is likely to emerge only after the Manmohan Singh-Gilani summit meeting at the Shangrila resort where they are both staying.

While formal trade between India and Pakistan averages $ 2.5 billion annually, it is the informal route through the trading centres of Singapore and Dubai that is bigger and is estimated to be around $ 3.5 billion. If Pakistan grants India MFN status (India had already granted Pakistan such a status in 1995) then formal trade may shoot up to $ 6 billion. Pakistan’s Planning Commission estimates that trade will to grow to $ 10 billion soon once MFN status is given to India. Freeing up many trading items could see the two countries making value additions to each other products.

As an official jokingly said, “Pakistan, for instance, would be able to supply us molasses and we could make plenty of rum from it to export to other countries.” If liquor could make trade between the two countries grow quicker then why not to do so? As one official said, “We are now moving towards taking the politics out of economics.”

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111110/main2.htm

The Tribune – Punjab traders elated at Pak’s grant of MFN status

Neeraj Bagga, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 2. Industrialists, manufacturers, exporters and importers of the border region welcomed Pakistan’s move to grant the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India.

They were unanimous in their opinion that it would boost bilateral trade between the neighbouring nations as exports from India would grow while Pakistan would be able to import items at comparatively cheaper rates.

Former CII chairman (Punjab chapter) Gunbir Singh said that the total trade between India and Pakistan stood at about US $ 2.5 billion. He added that indirect trade was even higher but with the MFN status, this would be channnelised which would help businessmen on both sides.

He said Punjab’s pharmaceutical, engineering goods and agrarian commodities like food grains and perishable items could be exported through the Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post (JCP).

Punjab Small Scale Industry Development Board Director Raman Gupta said that trading was being done earlier as per the positive list containing over 1,000 items released by the Pakistan government. Now the positive list would go and the Pakistan government would replace it with a negative list, he said. Only when we get to know the items in the negative list, we will be able to ascertain the actual gains, he added.

Gupta said there were about 1.20 lakh registered engineering goods manufacturing units in the state and many of them were facing closure due to stagnation. These units could be rejuvenated as Pakistan imported a large number of engineering goods from other countries, he said.

He added that Pakistan had limited success in trade with China because of lingual and geographical barriers.

Indo-Pak Chamber of Commerce President BK Bajaj said that trade benefits would percolate to the ground level if the Pakistan government expedites construction of the Integrated Check Post (ICP) on its side.

Indo-Pak Exporters’ Association President Om Prakash Arora said that the move would curtail custom duty and more number of items would be added to the trading list.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111103/punjab.htm#18