Gwadar: The Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has announced the formation of a 50-member team to receive industrial training in collaboration with the Sialkot and Gujranwala chambers of commerce, aiming to establish small-scale industries in Gwadar and create legal employment opportunities for local youth.
Addressing a press conference at the GCCI office, President Jeehund Hoth said the initiative follows the chamber’s recent visits to major industrial hubs in Lahore, Sialkot, and Gujranwala. “We have visited the big industrial hubs of Punjab, and both Sialkot and Gujranwala have agreed to support our plan,” he said.
Under the initiative, the Sialkot Chamber will provide training in the manufacturing of leather goods, surgical instruments, and other trades, while the Gujranwala Chamber will focus on electronics production. The training program will last three months, with both chambers offering free accommodation to participants.
After the training period, industrial experts from Sialkot and Gujranwala will visit Gwadar to assess local capacity for producing export-quality goods. If found viable, they have expressed willingness to help establish small industries in Gwadar and employ the trained individuals.
“This opportunity is open to everyone, whether they are GCCI members or not,” Hoth clarified. “We will select motivated individuals and either bear the training expenses ourselves or work with our partner chambers to cover them.”
GCCI Media Advisor Sajid Bin Rahim said the initiative aims to shift Gwadar’s economy toward legal, sustainable business activities. “We want to change the perception that Gwadar depends on illegal trade. Our goal is to bring people into legitimate industries and make local wealth circulate within the district,” he stated.
He added that GCCI has identified 50 small business ideas suitable for local production, including plastic goods, bottled water, cooking oil repackaging, and artificial jewelry. “Even if we succeed in establishing 30 small industries, they can directly employ around 300 people and generate many more indirect jobs,” he said.
The GCCI also plans to register these enterprises with the Balochistan Small Industries Department to ensure proper legal and administrative support.
Officials said the effort marks a major step toward transforming Gwadar into a small-scale industrial hub, modeled on the successful industrial ecosystems of Sialkot and Gujranwala — two of Pakistan’s leading centers for export manufacturing.
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