KARACHI, Nov 29: City Nazim Mustafa Kamal has said that the first master plan of the metropolis has been prepared and will be presented before the City Council next moth for its formal approval.

Speaking at the inaugural session of a seminar titled: `Towards A Vision 2030: direction of Industrial Development in Pakistan’, the azim said that after getting approval from the City Council the master plan would become a legal document and all stakeholders of the city would be bound to adopt it. The seminar was organised by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at a local hotel on Wednesday.

Mr Kamal said that unfortunately for the last many decades there was no master plan for the city, which was being run without any proper planning. He told the audience that the city government had given the task of preparation of the master plan to a private firm, which completed it within a year.

He said that from the president of Pakistan to a UC nazim and all stakeholders were consulted while preparing the master plan and their suggestions were also incorporated in it. The city observed that after the implementation of the master plan the city would enter into a new era of development and every development activity would be done in accordance with the plan.

He said poor infrastructure was a big hindrance to foreign investment in the metropolis before his government. He said that the present city government started development activities on a fast-track to improve the city’s infrastructure to international standards.

He said that during the one-year period, foreign businessmen had invested $900 million in different development, recreational and welfare projects and this huge investment would definitely results in creating ample opportunities of employment.

The nazim said the city government had made Karachi a business hub of not only Pakistan but of the entire region. The economic activities and industrial development was on the rise in the city, he said..

The seminar was presided over by Institute of Business Administration Director Prof Danishmand while Japanese Counsel-General Nakano Shouichi, Senior Economist of the International Development Centre of Japan Prof Hisaaki Mitsui and Assistant Director of the Institute of Developing Economics of Japan Prof Hisaya Oda and others also spoke on the occasion.