April 3, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 30, 1424

ISLAMABAD, April 2: The government is expected to shortly privatize the management and maintenance of existing industrial zones.

Official sources told Dawn here on Wednesday the Task Force on Investment had proposed the privatization of the management and maintenance of the existing industrial zones to reduce the government’s funding problems.

The industries in the zones will also be allowed to form a consortium and submit their proposals to take over the management of the zone.

The sources said respective provincial governments or their agencies will provide facilities to the interested operators to upgrade infrastructure and facilities in the zones through a one-window service to be established at the provincial level.

This will help expedite the upgrading of the industrial estates with modern facilities. “It will also free the federal government from the task of spending the limited resources on the existing zones,” a source said.

For industrial zones that have been planned or partially developed but with land still available for extension, the provincial governments or their agencies will invite interested private sector groups to submit bids to develop and operate these zones. The Board of Investment (BoI) will work with the respective provincial governments or their agencies to facilitate the interested operators to develop and upgrade the infrastructure facilities in the zone.

Earlier, the Task Force on Investment identified impediments like law and order situation, excessive utility charges, drawbacks in tax system and absence of commercial courts, which were hampering investment. The implementation was cited as the main problem to be overcome by the federal authorities.

Investment bodies like BoI, CCoI (Cabinet Committee on Investment) and PCoI (Provincial Committees on Investment) were in place to ensure promotion of both the local and foreign investment.

“And we intend to focus on domestic investors as the success stories at home will provide impetus to the foreign investors,” an official said.

The sources said Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali had directed the BoI to adopt an integrated approach to investment promotion and to remove the impediments in the way of foreign and domestic investors. The prime minister also called for removing the negative perception of Pakistan abroad.