SITE demands attention on existing industrial zones

KARACHI: SITE Association of Industry president Suleman Chawla has drawn the attention of Sindh Chief Minister towards the miserable condition of infrastructure in existing zones, particularly the SITE industrial area.

In a statement, Suleman Chawla welcomed the setting up of two new industrial zones in the Sindh provinces but at the same time demanded to improve the infrastructure in existing industrial zones. “Industrialists are not against setting up of new zones but have concerns over neglecting the existing ones,” he added.

Suleman Chawla further said that Karachi is the hub of economic activities of the country and contributes approximately 70 percent revenue to the national exchequer. “The city also provides employment opportunities to thousands of laborers from rural areas of Sindh and other provinces,” he added.

“Despite all these contributions, Karachi is being grossly neglected which is creating apprehensions among the business community,” he remarked.

He also said, “We welcome setting up of new industrial zones but the government should also pay attention towards the state of infrastructure in existing industrial zones such as SITE Karachi which is the oldest one in Pakistan.”

The SITE president also said that the infrastructure in SITE Karachi has totally collapsed, which makes it extremely difficult to reach the factories. “Broken and uneven roads also hamper the supply of industrial raw material to factories,” he claimed.  

In this regard, Suleman Chawla said that the industrialists have filed several applications in the offices of concerned authorities but no action was taken.

Chawla also drew the attention of Chief Minister Sindh towards the Plan submitted for road maintenance in SITE Karachi costing Rs one billion and requested an early disbursement of funds to improve road conditions in the SITE area Karachi.

He also appealed the Chief Minister Sindh to take notice of other issues such as load-shedding of electricity and gas. He also demanded to streamline the working of SITE Limited and send surplus employees to the Surplus Pool of the Sindh Government, so as to save funds for the infrastructure development.