KARACHI, May 14: The federal government, on a proposal put forward by City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal, has approved Rs1 billion for improvement of water and sewerage as well as the industrial waste and sewerage disposal system for Korangi Industrial Area.
The approval was accorded at a high-level meeting held on Saturday in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Akram Shaikh.
The meeting was attended by Mr Kamal and Iftekhar Haider, (Managing Director of the KWSB, besides federal government officials.
According to the city nazim, he told the meeting that the Korangi Industrial Area, Pakistan’s biggest industrial area, had tens of thousands of people employed in the industries set up there and the revenue it generated for the government amounted to about Rs250 million a day.
The water and sewerage system in the KIA had been affected badly by the flash flood that had hit it 30 years back. No attention had been paid to restore the same since then.
He maintained that due to the non-availability of a system for the safe disposal of industrial effluent, these industrialists were faced with serious problems.
The nazim stressed that it would be in the interest of the country and people that the facilities provided to the biggest industrial area were in conformity with the international standards.
He pointed out that the CDGK was already spending Rs2 billion on the improvement of the water and sewerage systems in Karachi’s industrial areas and it would be beneficial to the country if the project he had put forward was approved.
After a detailed consideration, the Planning Commission approved the project.
Expressing his happiness, Syed Mustafa Kamal said that the approval accorded to the project was a good omen. He said that the present city government had started working on the development of the city's industrial areas from day one in its effort to bring them at par with those in the world’s developed countries.
He said it was because of such efforts that the development activities in Karachi’s industrial areas had started on such a large scale for the first time in the city’s history.
“Our initiatives would prove helpful in making important headway towards attracting increased investment and eliminating unemployment.”
The nazim said that within one year, the very face of the Korangi Industrial Area would change. The problems being faced by industrialists would be resolved and they would be able to bring their foreign guests here with a sense of pride.
He hoped that these measures would help industrialists introduce their products in foreign markets.
He said this would be a gift from the Haq Parast leadership for industrialists and other businessmen of Karachi.
Brig Iftekhar Haider, chairing a review meeting here on Sunday, described the approval of the project as a big success of the city nazim’s efforts.
He directed KWSB officials to ensure early completion of the ongoing projects in the light of the nazim’s policies.
He impressed upon them to work round the clock on the improvement of the water and sewerage system in the Korangi Industrial Area so that the schemes could be completed ahead of schedule.
He said that the these projects were a part of the nazim’s efforts to make the industrial areas of the city attractive for foreign investors and his mission should be accomplished with a sense of commitment.—APP
