DUBAI, June 5: Industries and Production Minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi is optimist that resurgence of terror and violence in Karachi will not deter investors coming to Pakistan.

"It is happening everywhere in the world and we have to bear with it," he was quoted as saying by the local media while addressing a gathering of prospective investors organized by the Pakistan Business Council in Dubai the other day.

The minister promised "drastic changes in the investment policy to lure more investors in the country" and mentioned a number of incentive packages that the government has introduced for both local and foreign investors. He said these incentives were bearing fruits and cited a 17 per cent growth in the industrial sector during the fiscal year 2003-04.

He told the audience, mostly Dubai-based businessmen, that all formalities - from getting a licence to electricity connection - could now be completed in 10 days and "strict measures" had been taken to eliminate red-tape and corruption in government offices. He also revealed a plan to establish 'business felicitation centres' in all major cities of the country.

Mr Jatoi urged overseas Pakistanis to invest in the Gwadar Port project and said that the first phase of the Gwadar free-zone project consisting of airport, five-star hotels and multi-storey buildings would be completed next year.

He said the proposed 'textile city' at the Port Qasim had generated a good response and 160 applications had been received so far. According to the minister, the project to be launched this month was expected to create 80,000 jobs and would earn a foreign exchange of $2.5 billion every year.

Boasting about the performance of his ministry, Mr Jatoi said the profit of public sector industries would be "highest ever at about Rs5 billion" due to reforms and good governance.

He listed several projects by foreign companies that will start soon and include: A $500 million plant in Karachi to convert solid waste and coal into energy for providing cheap electricity; a $100 million investment in Pakistan Steel Mills by a Saudi company to manufacture billets; a 60m euro and a $50 million investment by two other companies, also in Pakistan Steel Mills.

"We are also establishing two engineering parks, one each in Karachi and Faisalabad, to felicitate industries," he said.