Sindh government urged to improve industrial zones' infrastructure

KARACHI: President of SITE Association of Industry (SAI), Suleman Chawla Tuesday demanded of the Sindh government to first improve the infrastructure in existing industrial zones prior to proceeding with setting up of new industrial zones.

He said that business & industrial community is not against setting up of new zones but have concerns over neglecting the existing ones. Welcoming setting up of two new industrial zones in the Sindh provinces but at the same time, drawn attention of the Chief Minister towards the miserable condition of infrastructure in existing zones, particularly SITE industrial area, Karachi, he r said that Karachi is the hub of economic activities of the country and contributes approx. 70pc revenue to the national exchequer. In addition, almost 90pc revenue of the Sindh province is collected from Karachi.

Not only this, the city provides employment opportunities to thousands of laborers from rural areas of Sindh and other provinces. Despite all these badges on the shoulder of Karachi, the city is being grossly neglected which is creating apprehensions among the business community.

"We welcome setting up of new industrial zones but the government should also see the state of infrastructure in existing industrial zones such as SITE Karachi which is the oldest one in Pakistan.

The infrastructure in SITE Karachi has totally collapsed, which makes extremely difficult to reach the factories. Broken and uneven roads also hamper the supply of industrial raw material to factories. This has been brought to the notice of authorities concerned time & again but there was no outcome", added Chawla.

Chawla also drew attention of Chief Minister Sindh towards the Plan submitted for roads maintenance in SITE Karachi costing PKR one billion and requested for an early disbursement of funds to improve roads condition in SITE area Karachi.

Due to big potholes on the roads, trailer trucks often overturn. Law enforcement agencies personnel face difficulties in routine patrolling as well as in apprehending criminals. According to them, due to uneven roads & potholes, traffic runs slow of which, the criminals take advantage by looting the passengers. Not only this, the industrialists are unable to invite their foreign buyers to visit their factories for business matters.

What should we understand from the setting up of new industrial zones and neglecting existing ones? Should we shift our industries to new industrial zones with better infrastructure & facilities? Chawla questioned.

He also appealed the Chief Minister Sindh to take notice of other issues such as loadshedding of electricity and gas. He also demanded to streamline the working of SITE Limited and send surplus employees to the Surplus Pool of the Sindh government, so as to save funds for the infrastructure development.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020