KARACHI: The Sindh government has planned to upgrade the infrastructure of industrial areas in the port city of Karachi by allocating substantial funds in the Budget 2024-25, reports Media.
“We have prepared a plan for infrastructure development in the industrial areas, as these are the backbone of the national economy,” said Zulfiqar Ali, Director of Infrastructure Development Company, while talking to Media.
The main reason for the deterioration of infrastructure is lack of communication between the department and the stakeholders, which is hurting the industries, he said. Substantial work has been done in the industrial areas in the last few years; however, a lot more is yet to be done, he added.
“Karachi’s industrial landscape testifies to the city’s entrepreneurial spirit and resilience, with a wide range of sectors, including textiles, pharmaceuticals, IT, telecommunications, and more. As Karachi continues to evolve, its industrial landscape will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in shaping up the city’s future trajectory, fostering sustainable development, and enhancing its position as a regional economic powerhouse,” he said.
Industrialists have welcomed the provincial government’s proposed plan to improve the infrastructure of the industrial areas. They pointed out dilapidated roads, water shortage, lack of solid waste treatment facilities as well as the poor law and order in these areas.
Faraz-ur-Rehman, a business leader in Korangi Industrial Area of the city, told Media that there was a dire need to improve the area’s sewerage system and resolve the water shortage. This industrial area houses the leading export industry of the country earning billions of rupees worth of foreign exchange.
“The old drainage system and roads are in a dilapidated condition. The Water Board should establish a task force, comprising responsible officers, to identify the basic problems and adopt a comprehensive strategy to solve them,” he said.
The equipment and machines for sewage drainage should be provided soon so that the Korangi Industrial Area could be made a clean, green and ideal industrial zone, he added.
Speaking to Media, Khurram Hussain, a key member of the business group in SITE Industrial Area, said infrastructure development was the need of the hour, as Pakistan’s industries need growth but in the presence of infrastructure bottlenecks, it was hard for the industries to work smoothly. He said Karachi, despite generating 60 percent of the federal revenue, hardly got 10 percent of the federal resources.
The joint efforts of the federal and provincial government can solve the port city’s problems of street crime, power shortages, and unemployment. In this regard, Pakistan’s largest city needs more than 10 percent of federal resources as well as the provincial resources, as Karachi alone shares 90pc in the provincial kitty. –INP
