KARACHI, Oct 14: Investment worth $4-5 billion committed to projects in Sindh was thwarted by worsening law and order situation that prevailed in the country following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, political uncertainty during and after elections and recent suicide bombing incidents in Islamabad and elsewhere, industry sources revealed this week.

Sources in the Sindh industries department told Dawn that the Qatari government had shown interest in investing in a huge livestock farm on 10,000 acres at Nabiser on National Highway, apart from a cement plant, and a five star hotel in Karachi.

Sufficient progress was made in some of these projects and even land was selected and allocated but investors did not turn up.

The MoU for the livestock farm with a million heads of cattle was signed between the government and the Qatari investor during the previous regime and the investors even gave approval of the land. The idea was to raise milk and meat production at the farm not only to meet the local market requirements but also export surplus to the Gulf countries, which import huge quantities of mutton from India. The cost of the project has been estimated at $500 million.

The land department had processed allotment applications from investors and sent several messages to the party to collect the orders but to no avail.

An MoU was signed for setting a up a cement plant and a site near Port Qasim was also selected for the project which was not aimed at meeting the local market requirements but also to have buyback arrangements with Qatar where there is a boom in construction industry.

Sources further informed that a Qatari investor was interested in building a five-star hotel and discussed the project with the city nazim Mustafa Kamal who offered prime land near Water Board office on Sharea Faisal.

The project was supported by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan which faced problems of hotel accommodation during mega expos and world fairs organised from time to time at the Karachi Expo Centre.

The project met the same fate as of its predecessors due to poor law and order situation.

The most ambitious project for which an MoU was signed was for an oil refinery to be set up near Port Qasim by a Kuwait-based US company Midrock Tussonia. It was also shelved for the same reasons, sources said.

The refinery to be built at a cost of $2 billion was designed for producing 30,000 barrels petrol and other products a day.

The US firm assigned its regional manager Zafar Ali to handle the refinery project in Karachi.

Sources said that the Industries Minister, Rauf Siddiqui, used his influence with some of Arab investors and they pledged to come back, but then came the most destructive suicide bomb attack on Islamabad Marriot Hotel, which killed many foreigners, and it laid a final nail in the coffin of foreign investment.