KARACHI, Dec 6: The virtually dead Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) is being put to life again, and two new companies, each with a capital base of Rs150 million , are being floated to revive industrial and business activities in Karachi, Federal Industries and Production Minister Jehangir Tareen said on Monday.

The minister has re-constituted the board of directors of the PIDC drawing all the members from the private sector. He has also decided to float two companies - National Industrial Parks Development and Management Company headed by well known banker Shaukat Tareen and the Technology Upgradation and Skills Development Company having Almas Haider as the Chief Executive.

"We want to restore Karachi's position as the leader of Pakistan industrial and commercial activities," Jehangir Tareen told Dawn on Monday evening after his day-long meetings with officials and business leaders. He recalled that Pakistan made giant strides in industrial and business progress when Karachi was the leader.

"The government is keen to develop labour-intensive industries at the quickest possible time to maximise job opportunities in the city," he said. With a capital base of Rs150 million, the National Industrial Parks Development and Management Company is being handed over a 250 acres plot in Korangi industrial estate.

This plot belongs to PIDC. The new company has been asked to negotiate purchase of 1,500 acres from the Pakistan Steel which has 2,400 acres with it to develop downstream projects. The company will also explore development of industrial parks in other parts of the country.

Both these plots are located at the prime industrial enclaves of Karachi on which the new company has been asked to develop the infrastructure facilities and offer land to the investors at reasonable prices. The company's board of directors will also be drawn overwhelmingly from the private sector.

The Technology Up gradation and Skills Development Company, also with a capital base of Rs150 million will mainly focus on the clusters of small and medium scale industries.

"Jewellery and gems, ceramics and other sub sectors are the areas where this company will focus after interaction with the investors," Jehangir Tareen outlined the objective.

He said the company would have a predominantly private sector board of directors that will decide up gradation of technology, installing new equipment and machinery after discussing the investment plans with the sponsors of the projects.

The public sector PIDC was the pioneer of industrial development in Pakistan and had set up a chain of industrial projects during the decade of sixties with innovative technologies and in the backward and far flung areas of the country. Following a wholesale privatization, PIDC is now reduced to shell company with no business to do.

"We are revamping the PIDC and giving it a new and dynamic role in rapid industrialisation of the country focussing mainly on Karachi," he explained. The reconstituted board is headed by the Minister himself and includes Mian Mohammad Mansha, Abdul Razzak Dawood, Arshad Nasir, Mian Mohammad Idrees, Babar Badat, Sarwar Khan, Usman Khalid Wahid, Kamran Mirza, Mian Muhammad Abdullah, Altaf M. Saleem, the Chairmen of the Upgradation and Skills Development company and the National Industrial Parks Development and Management Company and one business leader from Balochistan.

There will be four officials on the Board of PIDC who are the Secretary of Industries and Production division, President of National Bank of Pakistan, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Finance and Chairman of Engineering Development Board.

Jehangir Tareen disclosed that the Engineering Board is also being revamped to provide representation to the entrepreneurs involved in engineering industry. The Board, he said, is virtually inert for last many years and will be soon activated.

"Textiles, no doubt has its own importance but constitute only 6.6 per cent of global trade and it is 65 per cent of Pakistan's exports," the minister said while pointing out that bulk of global trade comes from engineering goods in which Pakistan has negligible share. "We have potential and we can do a lot," he stressed while stating the main objective is to maximise job opportunities.

He disclosed the new industrial strategy would be unfolded on January 15 next. A team of six economists and about a dozen top businessmen are engaged to prepare a blue print of the new industrial strategy. The minister is coordinating between the two groups.

Giving a brief outline of the proposed strategy he said it would be an integrated approach in which all issues, energy requirement, communications, and matters of front and back linkages, marketing, management, technology innovations would be addressed.

"We will set up a monitoring cell in the industries ministry to oversee the implementation of the industrial strategy," he said. "Our purpose is to set up institutions and empower these institutions so that the process and progress keep up its momentum," Jehangir Tareen summed up his discourse.