Unavailivility of power: Owners fear failure of Risalpur Marble City

NOWSHERA: The owners of factories in the Risalpur Marble City on Thursday feared failure of the scheme due to alleged wrangling between the federal and provincial governments and warned of launching a protest campaign if the issue of power provision to the city was not resolved.

Speaking at a press conference, Risalpur Marble City Action Committee chairman Asghar Khan said that the Pakistan Stone Development Corporation had established two marble cities eight years ago. He said one such city was established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while the other in Balochistan province.

The office-bearer added that 220 plots in the Risapur Marble City and 70 others in the Nowshera Industrial State were sold to investors to mine and set up precious stones cutting and polishing machinery there.

The locals and expatriates investors set up precious stone polishing machines and other machinery there, he added. He said the Marble factories in Balochistan were provided power and other facilities. He said the factories had been operational for the past seven years but on contrary the marble factories in the Risalpur Marble City could not be started due to non-provision of power to these units.

The office-bearer said a 132KV gridstation had been set up with total cost of Rs180 million provided by the investors but the industrial unites were not provided power from the gridstation. He said another Rs17.7 million was deposited to the Peshawar Electric Power Supply Company for installation of a separate feeder to provide power to the city but to no avail, he added.

Flanked by Aftaf Ahmad, Fakar Alam and others, he said the federal and provincial governments were providing all possible facilities to Chinese investors and using every mean to persuade other foreign investors to invest in the country and the province but ignored the local investors.