PESHAWAR, Feb 1: The government is striving to streamline the development of natural resources as a base for the province's economic growth, says NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani.
He said this while speaking during a meeting which was held here to discuss the potential of investment in the Frontier province, local government system, newly-amended Police Order and the Bank of Khyber affairs, said an official handout that was issued here on Sunday.
Mr Durrani said foreign and domestic investors had contacted the provincial government expressing their desire to invest in sectors like hydroelectric generation and development of mineral and other natural resources, adding the government had worked out a mechanism to facilitate these investors.
MMA's acting president Qazi Hussain Ahmad, senior provincial minister Sirajul Haq, NWFP Assembly's Speaker Bakht Jehan Khan, provincial ministers, chief secretary and other senior officials attended the meeting.
Highlighting the province's potential for investment, the chief minister said: "We have opened up all sectors to the domestic and foreign investment and we will work as facilitators. Now it is up to these investors to realize ground realities and invest in Frontier province."
He said that the government would live up to the investors' expectations, adding the government would provide adequate investment security. Emphasising on the potential of hydro-electric power generation in the province, the chief minister said that the Frontier government was able to build a single project capable of producing only 50 megawatts of electricity.
He said feasibility reports of certain projects were ready and at the same time there were investors who were willing to invest in these projects through public-private partnership.
Assuring investors about the provincial government's intention to set up necessary infrastructure, he said it would also facilitate investors by giving them "unmatched incentives."
He said that the provincial government had already taken in hand the acquisition of the Malakand-III project that would produce 81-MW of electricity.