Efforts on to help Karachi benefit from CPEC, says governor

Zubair says federal govt will play its due role for upgrading city’s
infrastructure before economic corridor’s completion 

Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair has said due steps are being urgently taken in Karachi, which is considered as the economic and industrial hub of the country, so that the metropolis could receive its share of benefits from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Speaking to a delegation of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), led by its president, Zubair Tufail, during a meeting at the Governor House on Monday, he said new sections of motorways were being built in the country to expand the process of industrialisation as well as for speedy transportation of industrial goods.

The governor assured the delegation that the federal government would play its due role for modernising Karachi and upgrading its infrastructure before the completion of CPEC. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was involved in the process of activating industrial units in the country, he added.

He said all relevant stakeholders were required to work together for making Karachi noticeable on the world economic map so that industries could work in the city at a swift pace. 

The governor said the government would provide utmost assistance to traders and businessmen based in Karachi, and traders were required to furnish to the government working papers of their industries so that their issues could be resolved on a preferential basis.

The government would actively work for the restoration of infrastructure in different sectors of the economy and the private sector was also required to discharge its obligations towards accelerating the pace of economic activities, he said.    

The FPCCI president requested the federal government to draw up a plan for the restoration of industrial infrastructure for economic progress in the country. He said Karachi would gain prominence due to the CPEC.

He said businessmen had a lot of expectations from the Governor House and they always looked up to the Governor House for the resolution of their major issues.

Tufail further stated that businessmen and industrialists were keen to see resolution of their pressing issues related to infrastructure, receipt of taxes by the FPCCI, a tax amnesty scheme for industrial zones and a lack of uniformity in provincial and federal taxes. He said the resolution of such issues would further accelerate the process of industrialisation in the country.

Chinese CG meets CM 

The governor said generating coal-based power at a Port Qasim site in Karachi with Chinese assistance would be help in resolving the power crisis in the city.

Meeting the Chinese consul general posted in Karachi, Wang Yu, at the Governor House, he said that after the restoration of law and order, Sindh in general and Karachi in particular had become an attractive destination for businessmen and prospective investors from abroad.

He said Pakistan-China relations would ensure prosperity and longevity of peace in the entire region as both the countries had been working collectively on a vision to strengthen the region. He was of the view that vicious forces had become active against the CPEC, and those forces did not want the region to prosper.

He said a large number of prospective investors from China had been coming to Pakistan due to progress on the CPEC, and joint business and development ventures were also being launched in the country. 

He said foreign investment would ensure and end of unemployment and a reduction in the poverty level in the country.