Rs one billion needed to rehabilitate infrastructure in SITE: Rauf

Sindh Minister for Industry and Commerce Rauf Siddiqui has said at least Rs 1 billion are required for rehabilitation and development of the infrastructure in the industrial areas of the province. Talking to media persons during an inspection visit at a water filtration plant in SITE area here on Wednesday, the minister informed that President Asif Ali Zardari had been approached on that matter to acquire the required funds.
Siddiqui also emphasised on the need of maintaining law and order in the SITE areas in order to encourage local and foreign investment. "Investment is not possible without a sense of security among the investors," he noted. The minister announced that soon an industrial zone spread on an area of 500 acres would be established in Larkana.
Agro-industries would be set up in that zone to promote the industrial development of agriculture of the upper Sindh region, he added. Siddiqui said the revenue generated from the phase II of Hyderabad SITE project would be spend on the development of both the SITE areas. He informed that the water filtration plant, being built at a cost of Rs 460 million, would start functioning by April 2012.
However, he added that he was pressing the engineers to complete the work well ahead of time. The minister also thanked Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad for ensuring timely release of funds for its development. When asked about the demand of Muttahida Qaumi Movement for creation of new provinces in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the minister said the MQM was supporting the long-standing demands of the Seraiki and Hazara people. However, he assured that there was no question of a separate province in Sindh because there had been no such demand. The minister earlier visited the plant and expressed satisfaction over the pace and quality of the project's development.