Key Facts

Area: 3,622 sq km
Population of Gujranwala city: 1.56 m
Population of Gujranwala District: 4.36 m
Total workforce: approximately: 31,604
Annual exports: US$500 m
Literacy rate: 56.6 %
Unemployment rate: 7.6 %
Urban population: 2.23 m
Rural Population: 2.12 m
Coordinates: 32.16 North, 74.18 East
Calling code: 055
Main industries: light engineering
industry, ceramic industry, textiles,
leather, electrical engineering

Gujranwala Regional Profile

Introduction
Situated along the contours of the famous Grand Trunk Road,
Gujranwala is an ancient city that lies in the northeast of the
Punjab province. It ranks as the third largest industrial centre in
the country, after Karachi and Faisalabad, in view of the availability
of raw material and skilled labour. The nature of industry here is
varied and vast, with a major concentration of light engineering
industry, besides textiles, leather, ceramics, cutlery, electrical
engineering and other industries. The Gujranwala Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (GCCI) is the representative body of
traders, and has around 3,800 registered members, while there
are also several unregistered businesses that operate informally.

What are Gujranwalas Growth Sectors?

Gujranwala is the commercial and industrial nerve center of
Pakistan. It is playing a major role in supporting Pakistans
economy. In Gujranwala, almost 15,000 units are operating as
cottage industries, while approximately 6,000 units are working as
small and medium scale industries. It is the main centre of
electrical and engineering goods manufacturing industries in
Pakistan, including electric fans, domestic utensils/appliances and
various types of electrical/industrial machinery.
Ceramics Industry
Gujranwala is quite well-known for its quality ceramic products.
This industry not only caters the local markets demand, but also
contributes towards exports to the international market. Over the
years, this industry has expanded and resulted in a long chain of
ceramics factories in this area and still they are growing in
numbers. Gujranwalas ceramics industry is divided into five
categories: electric insulators, sanitary ware, tiles, tableware, and
refractory (firebricks, alumina bricks and insulation bricks). All
segments have approximately same raw material needs, and in
fact, their suppliers are the same, too. Presently, there are about
100 units in this sector, of which the majority are engaged in the
production of sanitary ware. Approximately 65 units employing
5000 workers are involved in the sanitary ware business, using a
primarily labour-intensive technology. Around 10 are engaged in
pottery (table ware), while there are about 8 refractory units. The
remainder of businesses is involved in tiles and electric insulators.

Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce

Established in 1978
Has 3,800 members
GCCIs projects include Gujranwala
Dry Port, Gujranwala Export
Processing Zone, Gujranwala
Business Centre and various other
projects.

Light Engineering Industry

The light engineering industry has flourished in Gujranwala
remarkably. The major products produced by this industry include
electronic goods, fans, air coolers, motor pumps, agri-implements,
and auto parts. This industry not only cater local needs and lower
import bill, but also has come up to be a rich source of earning
precious foreign exchange for the country through exports.
According to the Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(GCCI), 857 light engineering units are currently operational in
Gujranwala which includes 78 electric fan, 137 motor pumps, 263
motorcycle and auto parts, 41 agriculture implements and 94
washing machine manufacturing units. The Super Asia Group
(makers of electronic equipment like air conditioners, washing
machines, fans, and heat geysers) is one of major industries of
Gujranwala, and has the honor of producing a complete plastic
bodied washing machine for the first time in Pakistan.
Electrical Components
Gujranwala district is one of the major industrially developed
districts of the country. It possesses the requisite social/physical
infrastructure and industrial base for the manufacture of
specialized electrical/electronic products and industrial machinery
to meet the overall requirement of the country, such as power/
distribution transformers, electricity/gas/water meters, circuit
breakers, electric wires/cables, fluorescent lamps, telephone sets,
capacitors/resisters/transistors, calculators, computers, cassettes,
television picture tubes, machine tools, boilers, textile machinery
such as ring spinning frames, automatic cone-winders, and
calendaring/sizing machines, etc. According to GCCI, almost 27
units of electrical components manufacturing are presently
operating in the zone.

Incentives/Facilities for Industrialists

Export Processing Zone
The Duddar Export Processing Zone is located on the main
Gujranwala-Lahore Grand Trunk Road. The Punjab Small Industries
Corporation (PSIC) and Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA)
jointly developed this Export Processing Zone worth Rs99.40
million (US$1.71 million). This EPZ is spread over an area of 113
acres, and there are 162 plots, ranging from 4 kanals to 10 marlas

in sizes priced at US$12.71 per sq. meter. This zone offers the
following incentives:

Duty-free import of machinery, equipment and materials

Freedom from national import regulations

Exchange control regulations of Pakistan not applicable

No restriction on repatriation of capital and profits

No sales tax on input goods including electricity/gas bills

Duty-free vehicles allowed under certain conditions

Domestic market available to the extent of 20%.

Exceptions may be available

Presumptive tax @ 1%

Only EPZA is authorized to collect presumptive tax at the

time of export of goods which would be the final tax
liability

Obsolete/old machinery can be sold in domestic market of

Pakistan after payment of applicable duties & taxes

Defective goods/waste can be sold in domestic market

after payment of applicable duties, maximum up to 3% of
total value

EPZ units allowed supplying goods to Custom

manufacturing bonds
The following facilities are also made available to investors:

One window service and simplified procedure

EPZA provides all infrastructural facilities like water, gas,
electricity and telephone.
Skilled and unskilled labour is available abundantly
Sub-contracting is allowed without limit on variety and
quantity in the zone or outside the zone
Garment manufacturing units can take part in the auction
of quotas if unit is located in Export Processing Zones.
The manufacturers in the zone may avail GSP (Generalized
System of Preference Certificate) given by various
countries on import from Pakistan
The work area is peaceful, secure, environmentally
protected and pollution free
Inter-unit transfer of finished goods among exporting units
is allowed.

Gujranwala Dry Port

The city has a dry port for the export of local products to the rest
of the world that has contributed to the export growth of the city.
The Grand Trunk Road and the motorways have helped the
logistical movement of cargo as well as communicating from one
city to the next.
Education
The private and public sectors have both made a great
contribution towards the educational sector in Gujranwala.
Gujranwala has a fairly well-developed educational infrastructure
that comprises Rachna Engineering University, a campus of the
University of the Punjab, which is the Universitys first teaching
campus outside Lahore, and the GIFT University. The Swedish
Group of Technical Institutes is the largest technical training
institute in Pakistan. There are 4 polytechnic institutions located in
Gujranwala, and the average number of students enrolled every
year in these institutions is 8848. There are 17 vocational institutes
which enroll 851 students every year.

Transport
Railway
There are also rail links with major cities in Pakistan including
Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Faisalabad as well as
smaller cities within the country. The main Peshawar-Karachi
railway line passes through Gujranwala district. The district is
linked with Sialkot, Hafizabad and Gujrat districts through the rail
network. The Gujranwala Railway Station was built by the British
before the independence of Pakistan and was one of the largest
railway stations of the Asia. It is situated on the Grand Trunk Road
at the centre of the city.
International Airport
The city is served by two international airports at Lahore and
Sialkot which offer flights domestically as well as internationally.
Allama Iqbal International Airport (80 km from the city) and Sialkot
International Airport (40 km from the city) are the prime airports
that provide flights to Gujranwala.
Road
The district has a metalled road-length of 1413 kilometres and is
linked with Gujrat, Sheikhupura, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad, Sial-

kot, Narowal, and Hafizabad districts through metalled roads. By

road, the city is less than two hours away from Lahore and three
hours drive from Islamabad.

Problems Faced by Investors in Gujranwala

Energy shortages and rising costs of energy are a serious

problem for businesses. The textile industry in Gujranwala
is facing the severest crisis of electricity load shedding.
Poor roads and communications infrastructure.
Currently, the local market is being invaded by cheap and
better quality Chinese ceramics products. This invasion
along with strong competition from other international
manufacturers is causing local firms huge losses.
Despite being a hub of light engineering industries, the
region lacks quality institutions for producing skilled
manpower necessary for technology up-gradation.
Currently the ceramics industry is facing a shortage of
human capital. Most of the labourers are semi skilled and
are trained on the job.
Light Engineering SMEs in Gujranwala currently suffer
from problems of material selection, physical testing,
material composition, components drawing making and
Computer Aided Designing (CAD) training facilities, which
has constrained their ability to take full advantage of the
advanced manufacturing process. High prices of raw
materials are also a major constraint for this industry.
Ball bearings are being smuggled into Pakistan because
local units are not producing good quality products.
Owing to electric steel sheet (ESS) shortage and high prices
in Gujranwala, fan manufacturers are using mild steel
sheets (MSS). The motors manufactured from this material
are not of good quality and use more electricity.
In the ceramics industry, quality assurance is a problem
faced by the industrialists and the most common reason
attributed is the absence of clay processing plants that
remove impurities from the raw material. The
manufacturers do not have enough resources to establish
individual processing plants because the cost will increase
significantly.