Sindh govt made reforms to attract investment: CM
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that he was working hard to make his province investment-friendly so that investment could be attracted to improve the economy, create employment opportunities, and bring in prosperity.
This he said while talking to a 28-member under training delegation of National Command Authority led by Dr Ansar Pervez. The participants were senior most officers and were either head of strategic institutions or their important wings.
Shah said that when PPP came into power in 2008 the entire province of Sindh was bleeding in terms of worst law & order. The urban areas of the province were turned into no go areas, target killing, extortion, arson and sieges were the order of the day, he said and added while the rural areas, particularly the highways had the sway of bandits.
In such circumstances, the government had a double challenge- means to restore law and order not only for protecting life, liberty, and property of people in the first phase and then develop the confidence of investors to attack investment. "Alhamdullillah, with our sincere efforts Allah made us successful at both the fronts," he said.
The CM said that he created an investment department with broad-based responsibilities of promotion of investment in all sectors in Sindh.
The chief minister said that Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have either been established or are in the process of establishment. Dhabeji SEZ is being developed under PPP mode and it would bring in around $5 billion investment apart from generating 200,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.
Shah said that Dhabeji Industrial Zone was a flagship project of his government and one of the priority projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Talking about Khairpur SEZ, the CM said that it was the first SEZ registered under SEZ Act 2012 in February 2014. "Five industries have started production there and 13 others [Industries] would start production in Sept/Oct 2022," he said.
The CM said that Marble City SEZ, a state-of-the-art Industrial Estate was being established in Karachi under Public Private Partnership mode to uplift marble, granite, and construction sectors in Pakistan.
Shah said that the Investment department was working to enhance the SEZs platforms at Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad and Hyderabad to revive the pace of industrialization in the province. "We have established `Sindh Economic Zones Management Company' to explore the potential areas for new SEZs, implement the SEZs regulations and execute the SEZs in Sindh as Developers.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2022.