PESHAWAR: A centre established in Peshawar to strengthen the manufacturing of small arms in the provincial capital and FR Kohat`s Darra Adamkhel town will be functional next week.

Federal industries and production minister Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi will inaugurate the Common Facility and Training Centre, the first of its kind in the country, next week, said a statement issued by the Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation here on Thursday.

According to the statement, PIDC chief executive officer Mohammad Iqbal Tabish along with member of the corporation`s board of directors Sheikh Lutfur Rehman visited the facility developed under the auspices of Pakistan Hunting and Sporting Arms Development Company at the Small Industrial Estate on Peshawar`s Kohat Road.

PHSADC CEO Tahir Khattal( and other members of the company briefed visitors about the CFTC infrastructure and its importance for the uplifting of small arms manufacturing cluster of Peshawar and Darra Adamkhel.

They said the CFTC was equipped with the latest machinery and equipment specifically meeting the needs of hunting and sporting arms manufacturing industry of the country.

PHSADC BoD member Inamul Haq said the absence of modern technology and manufacturing facilities like barrelmaking machines, high-precision CNC machines and other precision conventional and non-conventional machines was a major hurdle to the development of small arms manufacturing sector before the establishment of the CFTC.

PHSADC CEO Tahir Khattak said the CFTC would facilitate manufacturers with specialised mass production tools, dies, jigs and fixtures which would aid to reduce the manufacturing time and maintain quality.

He said the CFTC would focus attention on training of local workforce on how to read, prepare component drawings, measurement and inspection, standardisation and documentation, basic and advanced machining techniques, production processes, and help them graduate from free machining to the use of jigs and fixtures and thus, gradually moving them first to DROs (digital readouts) and then to the use of CNC machines.

The PIDC CEO visited various CFTC sections and inspected the machinery and manufacturing process.

He showed keen interest in the CNC barrel-making machine before the PHSADC staff members said the machine was the first of its kind in the country`s public sector that was capable of producing international standard highly précised gun barrels.

Mr. Tabish appreciated the PHSADC`s work and assured it of his organisation`s full support for the execution of future plans.

He showed interest in the opening of a PIDC regional office for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the premises of the PHSADC.