ISLAMABAD, June 17: The government has decided to make investors access to senior officials, both in the centre and the provinces, easier.

“One window concept is not possible under prevailing circumstances, therefore, the government has decided to ensure immediate appointment of senior officials in the ministries, provinces and the corporations to help the investors in every matter,” said the chairman, Board of Investment (BoI), Waseem Haqqie.

He told Dawn here on Tuesday the government had set up a “Provincial Investment Facilitation Board” in Karachi to be headed by Brig. Akhtar Zamin, who would have frequent interaction with various provincial departments in order to facilitate the local and foreign investors.

Similarly, he said that secretaries of the ministry of industries in all the four provinces have been given additional task to address the problems of the local and foreign investors by meeting them regularly.

“There will be a Grade 20 officer in each government department and the corporation who will be directly responsible for facilitating the investors,” he said adding that investors could also contact the BoI for any help.

He said the BoI was determined to eradicate impediments in the way of investment promotion. The chairman BoI said that this would be a some kind of a new investment promotion programme of the government to greatly help the investors.

Overseas Pakistanis, he pointed out, would also be given special treatment with a view to removing their problems in setting up new industries in Pakistan.

The BoI has got the approval from the federal and provincial governments for those officials who would now perform their additional duties to help the investors.

The BoI has worked out a “National Focal Points for Frequent Contact”.

According to the details, Mr. Shahid Rashid, secretary, Industries, Punjab and Raja Muhammad Abbas, secretary, Industries Sindh will now be readily available in their respective provinces to investors for any help including to have infrastruc-ture facilities like electricity, gas, telephone, water, etc. In NWFP Mr. Shahrukh Arbab, secretary, Industries and Major (Retd) Muzaffar Afridi, secretary, Industries, Balochistan had been appointed to look after the interest of the investors by meeting them any time any place.

Mr M.R. Mehakri, director, exchange policy department, in the State Bank will be responsible to answer all kinds of related queries and genuine assistance to the investors. Likewise, Mr Shabbir Khattak, chief engineer, KESC, Muhammad Ali Ghumman, chief engineer, Wapda and Mr Mukhtar Ahmad Gondal in CBR have been made responsible in their respective departments to help the investors.