ASF mulls industrial zone at M-9 motorway

KARACHI: The Airport Security Force (ASF) is mulling to set up an industrial zone of international standards on any available land adjacent to ASF City located at Karachi-Hyderabad M9 Motorway.

ASF has sought input and assistance from Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) for the concerned project.

“As our future generation’s next preferred destination for living is going to be M-9 Motorway where ASF City, DHA City, and Bahria Town are rapidly developing, it is an ideal place for setting up an industrial zone and we can partner with KCCI to turn the proposed zone into reality”, said director general ASF and managing director of ASF Foundation (ASFF) Major General Abid Latif Khan on his visit to KCCI.

On his first visit to the chamber, Khan mentioned that ASF Foundation had recently signed a memorandum of understanding with NUTECH University, wherein ASFF would provide 50 acres land to the university at M-9 for establishment of its Karachi campus.

“The availability of proposed industrial zone near NUTECH Karachi Campus will prove favorable not only for the industries, but also for the economy by creating abundant employment opportunities for the trained youth coming

out from the campus,” he said.

Regarding security at airports, khan said they try their best to improve the ASF services within the available budget and the situation he added was better than before when airports were facing security threats.

He mentioned that resource constraints were causing issues for the force to provide an ideal security environment as being provided at the airports abroad.

Speaking on the occasion, KCCI president Muhammad Idrees appreciated ASF Foundation for providing land to NUTECH for its Karachi Campus, which he said would help in grooming the youth besides adopting latest technologies and promoting production of spare parts and industrial machinery locally.

Businessmen Group chairman Zubair Motiwala hailed measures adopted by ASF to ensure security at the airports, saying, “The housing and commercial schemes undertaken by ASF Foundation are also a big contribution to the society as Karachi’s population has been rising sharply and the city faces dire shortage of trustworthy housing schemes.”

“KCCI believes that ASF Foundation’s projects have to be fully promoted and the chamber is ready to extend full support and cooperation in this regard,” he added.

Motiwala advised DG ASF to also look into the possibility of setting up an IT training institute at ASF City to facilitate people living in the City and other nearby housing schemes.