April 23, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24, 1427

Karachi is the heart of Sindh that energises the economy of the province. It has been facing some serious problems that hinder the industrial growth. The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), a representative body of the private sector, has summarised the problems and offered suggestions for improvement.

Inadequacy of physical and human infrastructure: The major impediment in industrial growth is inadequacy of physical and social infrastructure.

The availability of water and gas, uninterrupted power supply at a competitive price, good condition of roads, flyovers, rails and telecommunications, which are vital for improving competitiveness of industries, are required immediately.

Human resource development is the need of the hour, as there exists a huge gap between demand and supply of skilled people required by the industry. Hence technical and vocational training should receive top priority. Besides, a linkage between the university and industry should be developed.

Law and order situation: Although there is a considerable improvement in the law order situation, the recent incidents of bomb blasts and target killings have rekindled the fears. Therefore, government must take appropriate measures to curb incidents of terrorism and sabotage.

High Utility Charges: Utility charges should be brought down to the regional level. The government should withdraw surcharges on electricity, gas and the POL prices to reduce the cost of doing business. Interference by government functionaries: Direct contacts between the government functionaries or regulating agencies with the industries should be eliminated. At present, employers or employees have no dispute on payments of wages or salaries.

The problem, which employer and employees are facing, is the unnecessary interference by the government functionaries, particularly EOBI and Social security inspectors, both these departments collect labour levies on the number of workers presumed by them. It is suggested that there should be only one National Labour Number.

Allocation of land for industrial purposes: Land in suburbs of Karachi, which has already been allotted on lease for 10 to 30 years, should be declared as industrial land, with the provision of minimum conversion charges, through one window quick procedure.

Since the government’s resources are not enough to develop a complete industrial infrastructure like roads, electricity, water etc. it is proposed that private industrial zones be established. For this purpose land should be allotted to a private industrial company, along with the chamber of commerce and industry of that area.

The company should be responsible for all industrial infrastructure development. The company establishing and maintaining these zones will provide all utilities, like roads, electricity, water etc. It would be allowed to set up a power plant at its own, lay down distribution network and sell electricity to the consumers of that industrial estate.

Research and Development facility: The R&D facility should be provided as top priority. Industrial sector has been dependent on expensive foreign technologies. There is an urgent need for public-private partnership in this area so that results of R&D institutions and universities are made available to the industrial sector to help them obtain appropriate technologies.