February 16, 2007	Friday	Muharram 27, 1428

QUETTA, Feb 15: Pakistan Ship-breakers Association president Azam Malik has indicated great boom in ship-breaking industry in the coming days, saying four ships of 100,000 tons have anchored at Gadani beach for breaking.

Talking to newsmen here on Thursday, he said the ship-breaking industry faced crisis due to wrong polices of pervious governments which resulted in unemployment and people involved in this business faced losses and they withdrew investment from this important sector.

He, however, said that with encouraging polices of the present government, ship-breaking industry was once again gaining momentum and people, who were earlier fed up at the state of affairs, were reinvesting in this sector.

He said presently four huge ships were brought at Gadani beach for dismantling. "Work on breaking of these huge ships has started," Malik Azam said, adding three more huge oil tankers would be arriving at the Gadani beach for breaking during the current month.

He said with a boom in the ship-breaking industry at Gadani, the government would receive millions of rupees revenue while re-rolling miles and other related industries would get best quality steal scrap.

He said hundreds of jobless people have been provided jobs, while more jobs would be created with the arrival of three oil tankers.

He said Pakistan remained second in the world after Taiwan in ship-breaking industry in the 70s when 100 to 150 ships used to come at Gadani beach for breaking.

However, owing to wrong polices pursued in the past and imposition of heavy taxes, the industry got paralysed.

"Pakistan once again can come at No 1 in the ship-breaking, if government gives more incentives and reduces taxes," Malik Azam said.