Inordinate delay in preparation of master plan for industrial areas of Karachi is hindering development work on the infrastructure. The task of preparing a comprehensive plan was assigned to the Nespak about one-and-half years back, which was to be finalised in three months, but till todate it could not materialise. Reliable sources told Business Recorder that the industrial areas' master plan was taken up by the Federal, provincial and city governments in co-operation with other concerned departments to improve the infrastructure in these areas under Tameer-e-Karachi programme (TKP), which is presently in a very bad shape.
Under this project, infrastructure improvement would be confined to the four industrial zones of Korangi, New Karachi, Landhi and Federal "B" Area, excluding the Site area.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) was under obligation to finance the master plan project from its Export Development Fund (EDF). It had released rupees five million, out of the total cost of Rs 6.4 million earmarked for the first phase of the plan, for preparation of the master plan and the PC-1 for the development of the infrastructure in the four industrial areas of the city.
However, the EPB has yet to release the balance payment of Rs 1.04 million as the phase-II of the plan falls under the purview of the Ministry of Industries and Production after reassignment of work some time back.
Similarly, the Nespak is equally responsible for this delay in preparation of the master plan as despite receiving large chunk of amount, it is working below the mark and has given no date for its finalisation.
The sources said that a meeting, held last month, stressed early release of the balance amount to the Nespak for completion of the first phase with view to accelerating the development works.
Meanwhile, the Sindh Governor, in a letter to the EPB, has suggested that action on priority basis be taken up for the release of Rs 1.04 million by the EPB as work on phase-I has to be financed by the EPB as per its commitment.
The sources said that reasons behind the delay in releasing this meagre amount might be known to the EPB authorities, but the fact was that it was blocking the development work in the industrial zones as only after the preparation of a master plan, the task could be taken up in an organised and planned way.
"The work, which should have been undertaken earlier to meet free trade regime's compliance, is not insight in near future", he said, adding that the ruined infrastructure in the industrial zones posed grave threat to the exports of the country.
Some industrialists from these zones expressed their displeasure over the apathy of the concerned authorities, causing delay in the preparation of the master plan, and stressed the need for moving quickly to develop the industrial areas of city to meet the World Trade Organisation (WTO) standards.
"It is beyond the comprehension as to what factors are obstructing the development process when even the President and the Prime Minister have on a number of occasions directed for accelerating the work for industrial areas for increasing the exports of country," they added.
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