June 27, 2003	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 26,1424

KARACHI, June 26: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo has urged the Sindh government to announce a composite and integrated industrial policy of its own on the lines of the Punjab government’s recent announcement of industrial policy.

“The provincial government should come out with a pragmatic industrial policy, thus addressing specific problems in Karachi, infrastructure development in rural areas and pending issue of sick-industrial units in consultation with the representatives of trade and industry,” he said.

Karachi, which contributes around 60-70 per cent revenue to the national and provincial exchequers, deserves a better deal now, he said in a statement.

The KCCI chief said the pace and pattern of industrialization and socio-economic structure of all the four provinces were not uniform, characterized by variation in terms of capital and human- resources, etc. As such a separate industrial policy of each province, indeed holds the key for the rapid development of the province, he added.

Among eight industrial estates that were developed by the Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE) in the province, the estates at Sukkur, Kotri, Super Highway and Tando Adam have almost failed to attract sufficient investment due to lack of infrastructures, he said, adding even supply of power, water, gas and other infrastructure at the Karachi-based industrial sites is not satisfactory either.

The new industrial policy in Sindh as well as re-activation of ailing estates would provide new jobs to the people in their own towns.