The Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) is forming a 50-member team in collaboration with industrial hubs in Sialkot and Gujranwala to establish small-scale industries in Gwadar, aiming to generate legal employment opportunities for youth and boost local manufacturing. Speaking at a press conference held at the GCCI office, President Jeehund Hoth said the initiative follows his team’s recent visits to the Lahore, Sialkot, and Gujranwala chambers of commerce.

“We have visited Lahore, Gujranwala, and Sialkot chambers, the big industrial hubs. Sialkot and Gujranwala have agreed to support us,” he told reporters. Hoth explained that Sialkot and Gujranwala chambers have agreed to support GCCI’s initiative by training a 50-member team from Gwadar in various industrial skills. The Sialkot Chamber will provide training in the manufacturing of leather goods, medical equipment, and other trades, while the Gujranwala Chamber will focus on electronics manufacturing.

Both chambers will offer free accommodation during the three-month training program. Afterward, experts will visit Gwadar to assess its capacity to produce exportable goods, and if viable, they have expressed willingness to set up small industries in the city and employ the trained individuals. “This opportunity is open to all, whether they are GCCI members or not,” Hoth added.

“We will select motivated individuals from Gwadar and either bear the training expenses ourselves or coordinate with the Sialkot and Gujranwala chambers to cover them.” GCCI Media Advisor Sajid Bin Rahim said the initiative aims to shift Gwadar’s economy toward legal, sustainable industries. “We want to change the atmosphere of Gwadar and bring people into legal trades. There’s a perception that only illegal trade happens here like diesel. We want to change that label,” he said.

He said that Gwadar currently lacks industries, causing local wealth to flow out of the district. “We want the money of Gwadar to circulate inside Gwadar,” he said, outlining plans to develop home-based micro-industries. GCCI has identified 50 small business ideas, including plastic manufacturing, bottled water, cooking oil repackaging, and artificial jewelry, all of which could be produced locally.

“Even if we establish 30 small industries, they can directly employ around 300 people and create many more indirect jobs,” Rahim said. GCCI plans to register these industries with the Balochistan Small Industries Department to ensure legal recognition and support. The initiative marks a significant step toward transforming Gwadar into an industrial hub, modeled on successful practices from Sialkot and Gujranwala, two of Pakistan’s leading export centers.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak-China