Govt reconstitutes EDB, appoints Almas Hyder as chairman

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has appointed Almas Hyder as the Chairman of Engineering Development Board (EDB) and reconstituted it.

The board members of EDB from the government will include secretary industries production, secretary commerce, secretary finance, secretary science and technology, secretary defence production and chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), reports.

And members from the private sector will include Senator Nauman Wazir Khattak, Nasir Hameed, Syed Nabeel Hashmi, Khawar Tawfiq Sheikh, Muhammad Faisal Afzal, Muhammad Murad Saigol, Engineer Khawar Anwar Khawaja, Saqib H Shirazi and Abbas Akber Ali.

Also, representatives from new entrants in the automobile sector from Renault Al-Futtaim will be a part of EDB’s board.

The industrial sector has felicitated the incumbent administrations’ decision to reconstitute the EDB and voiced hope it will make all-out efforts for industrial growth.

In October, the PTI government had restored the EDB, rescinding the previous decision of the cabinet.

While addressing a press conference after the decision of the federal cabinet, Prime Minister’s Advisor on Commerce, Textile, Industries and Production and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood said the board had finally been restored.

According to him, the decision of restoring the board was made to resolve issues in the auto sector.

The performance of EDB will be improved after the reconstitution of the board, Dawood then said.

He had highlighted the EDB would be given the task of introducing new technology in the auto sector.

The EDB was disbanded by the previous PML-N administration citing corruption and nepotism and various industry representatives had called for its restoration.