Oversight body reviews Rs9.28bn industrial estates upgrade package

KARACHI: Industrial zone associations in Karachi have begun implementing a Rs9.281 billion special development grant approved by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah for the rehabilitation and upgradation of the city’s major industrial estates.

The progress was reviewed on Thursday at the sixth meeting of the Oversight Committee, held at the commissioner’s office and chaired by Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab. The meeting examined the status of the wider development package as well as the execution of schemes by the respective Industrial Zone Development Management Companies.

Representatives of trade bodies and industrial development management companies briefed the committee on the position of ongoing and planned projects. Participants were told that work orders for several schemes had already been issued, while the remaining projects were in the final stages of procurement and are expected to begin within the next few days.

Speaking at the meeting, Wahab said the initiative showed the Sindh government’s commitment to reinforcing Karachi’s industrial base and improving infrastructure for the business community. He said the funding model had been designed to allow industrial areas to move ahead with development work in line with their own requirements.

Attributing the arrangement to the provincial government’s approach, the mayor said the full amount of the development grant had been transferred directly to industrial zone associations instead of being routed through conventional administrative channels.

"For the first time in history, the entire development grant amount has been transferred directly to the industrial zones' associations, empowering them to execute projects according to their own priorities without facing the bureaucratic red tape," Wahab said.

Wahab added that, under this model, industrial associations had been given full authority to independently carry out the schemes and ensure their timely completion.