Cambridge O Level Pakistan Studies: Industrial Development — Revision Notes

These notes reduce Section 5 Industrial development of Cambridge O Level Pakistan Studies 2059 Paper 2 to what you need to recall under time pressure. Learn the definitions word-perfect, link each named industry to a place and a location factor, and practise judging the informal sector, export zones, call centres and tourism. Full explanations are in the Industrial Development study guide.

Syllabus checklist (2059, 2026)

• ☐ 5(a) Raw materials, refined, processed, manufactured, value-added
• ☐ 5(a) Infrastructure; services; primary, secondary, tertiary industry
• ☐ 5(b) Large-scale, small-scale and cottage industry as defined in Pakistan
• ☐ 5(b) Products, markets and locations of cement, cotton, sugar, crafts, fertiliser, iron and steel, brick, oil refining, sports goods, surgical instruments
• ☐ 5(b) Location factors: capital, site, raw materials, power, water, labour, communications, government policy
• ☐ 5(b) Formal versus informal sector; informal services; advantages and disadvantages; contributions of both
• ☐ 5(b) Sources of capital and labour; government promotion of industry
• ☐ 5(b) Export processing zones and industrial estates: examples, reasons, characteristics
• ☐ 5(b) Feasibility of call centres and other global-communication jobs
• ☐ 5(b) Natural and cultural attractions with examples; feasibility of tourism for jobs, GNP and GDP

Definitions to learn exactly

Term	Definition
Raw material	A natural substance used to make a product (limestone, seed cotton, cane)
Processed	Changed in form or condition (cotton ginned, yarn spun)
Refined	Purified by removing unwanted material (crude oil to petrol; cane juice to sugar)
Manufactured	Made into a finished product, usually by machine (cloth into shirts)
Value-added	Increase in value created at each stage of production
Infrastructure	Basic structures a country needs: roads, rail, ports, power, water, telecoms
Services	Activities that help people and businesses rather than make goods
Primary industry	Extracts natural resources: farming, fishing, mining, forestry
Secondary industry	Processes and manufactures goods
Tertiary industry	Provides services: transport, trade, banking, health, tourism
Formal sector	Registered, taxed businesses with regular paid jobs
Informal sector	Unregistered, untaxed work, often self-employed or casual
EPZ	Export processing zone: duty-free fenced estate for export production

One-line location reason per industry

• Cement: limestone is heavy → quarry-side plants (D.G. Khan, Daudkhel, Pezu, Thatta).
• Ginning: seed cotton is bulky → in the cotton belt (Rahim Yar Khan, Sanghar).
• Textiles and garments: labour, power and port → Faisalabad, Lahore, Karachi.
• Sugar: cane spoils fast → beside cane fields (Jhang, Mardan, Badin).
• Fertiliser: gas is feedstock → on gas fields and pipelines (Daharki, Sadiqabad, Multan).
• Iron and steel: imported ore and coal → coastal Pipri at Port Qasim; scrap from Gadani.
• Brick: clay plus local market → kilns ringing every city.
• Oil refining: imported crude at the coast (Karachi, Hub); local crude in the Potwar (Morgah); inland market (Mahmood Kot).
• Sports goods and surgical instruments: inherited skills and export links → Sialkot.
• Crafts: tradition and local materials → Multan pottery, Hala lacquer work, Chiniot furniture.

Domestic or export?

Mainly export	Both	Mainly domestic
Sports goods, surgical instruments	Cotton yarn, cloth and garments; cement; crafts	Fertiliser, steel, bricks, refined fuel, sugar

Informal sector: balanced view

For: absorbs migrants without qualifications; little capital needed; cheap goods and repairs; recycling of scrap; flexible subcontracting for exporters. Against: low and irregular pay; no safety rules; child and bonded labour (notably in some brick kilns); no taxes for government; no access to bank credit, so firms stay small. Judgement line: the informal sector keeps millions employed and supplies the formal sector, but low productivity holds back GDP growth, so the aim is to help it formalise, not to remove it.

Government promotion: name and explain

Measure	Example	Why
EPZ	Karachi, Sialkot, Risalpur, Gujranwala; Saindak, Duddar	Foreign investment, exports, jobs, technology
Industrial estate	SITE Karachi and Hyderabad, Sundar (Lahore), Hattar, Gadoon Amazai, Hub	Serviced plots; spread industry
Special economic zone	Rashakai, Allama Iqbal Industrial City (CPEC)	Chinese and local investment along CPEC routes
Credit and training	Small-business loans, technical institutes	Capital and skilled labour

Characteristics of an EPZ: fenced and secure; ready-built sheds; reliable power and water; duty-free imports of inputs and machinery; quick customs clearance; most output exported.

Call centres and tourism: feasibility grid

	Helps	Hinders
Call centres and IT	Young, English-speaking graduates; low wages; IT exports near US$3 billion (mid-2020s)	Power cuts; uneven broadband; skills gap; competition
Tourism	Mountains (Fairy Meadows, Deosai); heritage (Makli, Rohtas, Takht-i-Bahi); religious tourism (Kartarpur)	Access, landslides, seasonality, security image, environmental damage

Exam traps

• Confusing “processed” with “manufactured”. Ginning is processing; stitching a shirt is manufacturing.
• Giving a location without a factor. “Sialkot” alone scores less than “Sialkot, because of a skilled workforce built up over generations”.
• Saying the informal sector is “illegal”. Most informal work is legal but unregistered.
• Listing tourist sites without judging feasibility. The syllabus asks you to assess tourism’s contribution to jobs, GNP and GDP.
• Calling Pakistan Steel the main current supplier. It has been largely idle since about 2015.

Self-test

1. Define value-added.
2. Why is urea made close to gas fields?
3. Name two EPZs in Pakistan.
4. Give one advantage and one disadvantage of the informal sector.
5. Name a cultural attraction near Thatta.
6. Which city leads sports goods and surgical instruments?

Answers: 1. The increase in value created at each stage of processing or manufacturing. 2. Natural gas is both raw material and fuel. 3. Any two of Karachi, Sialkot, Risalpur, Gujranwala, Saindak, Duddar, Gwadar. 4. For example jobs for unqualified people; low pay and no protection. 5. The Makli necropolis. 6. Sialkot.

Frequently asked questions

Is tourism a secondary or tertiary industry? Tertiary, because it provides a service (travel, accommodation, guiding) rather than making goods.

Which industries in the list are cottage industries? Crafts are the clearest example, along with home-based stitching for sports goods and garments.

What is the difference between an EPZ and a special economic zone? An EPZ is aimed at export production with duty-free inputs; a special economic zone offers incentives to firms that may sell at home as well as abroad.

Related resources

• Industrial Development study guide
• Industrial Development practice questions
• Power revision notes

Source: Cambridge International, Cambridge O Level Pakistan Studies 2059 syllabus for examination in 2026, Paper 2 Section 5 Industrial development.