Raisani thanks ambassador for Rs800m grant

The Government of Japan has extended a grant of Rs800m to the Balochistan government for the rehabilitation.

The Government of Japan has extended a grant of Rs800 million to the Balochistan government for the rehabilitation of the Pasni Fish Harbour.

Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Khan Raisani extended his formal gratitude on Tuesday during a meeting with the Japanese ambassador to Pakistan Chihiro Atsumi at the Japanese embassy. The grant has been provided out of the Counter Value Fund, maintained by the federal government under Japanese assistance.

“This grant will be utilised to procure a dredger and extend and improve the breakwater of the harbour,” Raisani said, adding that over 100,000 people had been directly or indirectly employed at the Pasni Fish Harbour.  He said that the Balochistan government was planning to establish four state-of-the-art fish harbours along the Balochistan coast at Surbandar, Pishukan, Daam and Sonmiani.

The Japanese assistance has come as a result of Raisani’s personal efforts last year when he invited donors specifically for this project. “The Government of Balochistan has been trying to arrange funding to rehabilitate the harbour built in 1989. It used to provide berthing and calling facilities to 3,500 vessels of various sizes but, with the passage of time, it started silting up and gradually reduced to only 20 per cent of its actual capacity,” he said.

Raisani also requested Ambassador Atsumi to engage Japanese firms for carrying out the rehabilitation of the harbour and pledged full assistance and the use of Pasni airport if any Japanese company expressed interest.

He also told the ambassador about the vast mineral resources and the abundance of seafood in Balochistan and invited Japanese investors to explore them. “Balochistan has one of the largest copper, silver and gold deposits in the world and there is great scope in exploring these reserves through joint ventures,” Raisani said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2010.