CCoRR approved BOI’s fisheries and aquaculture reform package to streamline 55 RLCOs, reduce regulatory burdens, and unlock Pakistan’s blue economy and export potential.
The 10th meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Regulatory Reforms (CCoRR), chaired by Federal Minister for Investment Mr. Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, with Federal Minister for Commerce Mr. Jam Kamal Khan and SAPM on Industries & Production Mr. Haroon Akhtar, has approved landmark reforms to streamline Pakistan’s Fisheries & Aquaculture sector.
Under the Board of Investment’s (BOI) Regulatory Reforms Package, the Committee endorsed reform of all 55 RLCOs (Registrations, Licenses, Certificates & Other Permits) across 24 departments. The package eliminates redundant requirements, consolidates 17 RLCOs into 5, and digitises the rest ,replacing a fragmented, paper-based system in which businesses submit 266 documents, much of it duplicating information the government already holds.
The impact: an estimated PKR 8.97 billion in annual savings and nearly 800 days of processing time cut, in a sector that contributes under 1% of GDP today but holds USD 1.5–2 billion in untapped export potential. One critical reform also opens the door to regulated joint ventures in Pakistan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, harnessing deep-sea and tuna resources that remain largely unexploited.
As SAPM Mr. Haroon Akhtar Khan put it: “If we minimize these regulatory constraints, imagine the increase in exports.”