KARACHI, June 22: The Adviser to Chief Minister, M A Jalil, has said the Sindh government was doing its best to promote investment in the city, adding that there were lots of investment opportunities here.

Exchanging views with a delegation of the Asian Development Bank at his office on Thursday, he told them that development projects in the city would be completed ahead of scheduled time.

He said that completion of all ongoing mega projects would make the city a major business centre in the region.

The Vice President of the ADB, Liqen Jion, said that Karachi would help promote economic prosperity in whole of Central Asia.

He said that the uplift of Karachi’s rural areas was a must, so that difference between the rural and urban areas could be ended.

The City Nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal, ADB representatives Hong Wang, Riza Tang, Peter Fedon, Additional Chief Secretary Sindh Ghulam Sarwar Khero, Sindh Finance Secretary Malik Israr, Special Secretary for Development Shoaib Siddiqui and others were present.

Meanwhile, the ADB has approved an amount of $60 million to raise the living standards of people in the interior of Sindh.

The amount will be used for construction and repair of roads in 175 villages, water supply and other projects in the interior, said the Sindh Local Government Adviser, Wasim Akhtar, who was speaking at an inaugural ceremony of the United Group of Companies’ recreational project, Cloud Seven, at a local hotel.

Under the project, a recreational spot will be developed on 1,168 acres in Gharo, some 69 kilometres from Karachi. It will provide recreational facility to people of Karachi and Hyderabad.

Mr Akhtar said the present government had laid a network of uplift projects in the province with complete guidance and support of the President and Prime Minister.

He asked the federal government to release development funds in time to avoid delay in completing uplift work in scheduled time.

He said besides the city government, the KPT and the Steel Mills were also spending money for the city’s uplift.—PPI