March 09, 2007	Friday	Safar 19, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, March 8: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence Production met in the Parliament House on Thursday to discuss the performance of the Karachi Shipyard.

A press release issued here said Fiza Junejo, who chaired the meeting, praised the role of the management of the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW) in its revival and said the committee would support such efforts.

The committee recommended that the rented land of the KPT which was under the use of the KSEW should be transferred to the KSEW and its rental charges amounting to Rs90 million should be waived off.

KSEW managing director Vice-Admiral Iftikhar Ahmad said the KSEW was a strategic industry, but its condition deteriorated with the passage of time due to lack of interest by previous governments. Resultantly, he said, the structure of the KSEW had become old and it needed rehabilitation on priority basis.

He urged the government to approve a branch of the KSEW at Gwadar to attract the business of large vessels transiting through that area and to get into joint venture agreements with leading international shipyards.