November 16, 2003	Sunday	Ramazan 20, 1424

KARACHI, Nov 15: The government plans to invest Rs10 billion in the initial stage for providing water, gas and electricity and construction of buildings and roads and other facilities in the proposed Textile City planned to be established near the Port Qasim.

The pace of work at the proposed site of Textile City will accelerate after the expected approval of PC-1 scheduled next Saturday in the city.

Full details of the upcoming Textile City were explained by federal industries and production secretary Javed Asharf to Port Qasim Authority chairman Vice-Admiral Khattak on Friday at a meeting. When fully operational, the Textile City, designed to be developed as an exclusive textile export zone with many dyeing and processing units, would offer job opportunities to 80,000 persons.

The Port Qasim Authority has earmarked 1,250 acres for the proposed Textile City project, which is expected to bring a big economic boom in the industrial area around the second port of the country.

Since the units proposed to be set up in the Textile City would consume a lot of water, electricity and gas, the industries and production ministry plans to develop infrastructure facilities in collaboration with Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, SSGC and other government agencies. Initial estimates show requirement of 25 million gallons of water a day and an 100 megawatt electricity. The government with active collaboration of all the allied agencies, intends to lay down water and gas supply lines, install a power generation plant of 100 megawatt and to set up an effluent treatment plant.

Land allotment for the proposed mega project is expected to be approved in the next board meeting of the Port Qasim after which necessary steps would be taken to carry out development work.

Javed Ashraf, Vice-Admiral Khattak and government officials held a meeting with the investors of Export Processing Zone and informed them of the availability of water, electricity, gas and other facilities.

The government is now under pressure from Punjab to take up similar project of Textile City in Lahore and Faislabad quickly.