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Chinese interests caught in drone threat

eProperty — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 09:53:01 +0000

QUETTA, Pakistan – The reported United States plan to use Predator drone aircraft to attack targets in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan may affect activity there by the Chinese, who have focused most of their investment in the country in that area, notably around the seaport of Gwadar, according to local analysts.

United States President Barack Obama and his top aides are reported to be considering expanding covert operations against Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders to Balochistan, particularly in and around the provincial capital of Quetta. Taliban leader Mullah Omar is rumored to be based in the province, something denied last week by Balochistan chief minister Mohammad Aslam

Raisanit. The US operations could include strikes by remote-controlled aircraft, or drones. To date, these unmanned craft have concentrated their efforts on the tribal areas that border Afghanistan.

US drones have carried out more than 30 drone strikes since early 2008. The strikes have killed about 300 people, including several mid-level al-Qaeda members, according to a tally of reports from Pakistani officials and residents of border regions, according to Reuters.

While Gwadar seaport, just 624 nautical kilometers east of the Strait of Hormuz, gateway to the Persian Gulf, lies about 1,000 kilometers from Quetta, the project has already been delayed due to insurgent activity by rebels hostile to the central government. The possibility of using America’s Central Intelligence Agency-operated drones in the province, the country’s most economically backward area, may further destabilize security there and create a severe domestic backlash.

Projected improved transport links between Gwadar and Quetta and a planned oil pipeline linking the port to China’s western region could also be threatened if drone attacks increase the level of local unrest.

The Chinese are developing Gwadar to serve as a strategic base to spread Beijing’s influence in oil-rich Middle East and Central Asia. The mineral-rich province has also attracted Chinese miners and oil companies.

Firms working in Balochistan include Tianjin Zhongbei Harbor Engineering Supervision Corporation of China, China Harbor Engineering Company Group, Metallurgical Construction Corporation (MCC) and its subsidiary, MRDL and Chinese petroleum outfit, the Bureau of Geophysical Prospecting (BGP).

So far, China has been the biggest investor in developing Gwadar. The two-phase program of port construction is being supervised by Tianjin Zhongbei Harbor Engineering, with a total estimated cost $1.6 billion. China has so far contributed about $198 million, while Pakistan has allocated $50 million. Elsewhere in the city, China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) is involved in building an international airport at a cost of $70 million.

An important feature of the city’s development and strategic importance is a $12.5 billion oil refinery being built by China’s Great United Petroleum Holdings Company. The China-funded refinery will have an annual refining capacity of refine 21 million tonnes of oil.

China and Pakistan are also working on a plan to lay a trans-Himalayan pipeline to carry Middle Eastern crude from Gwadar to the remote western area of China, running alongside the Karakoram highway.

Development of the Gwadar port project has already been delayed over security concerns. In May 2004, three Chinese engineers were killed by terrorists and in the same month the city’s airport was attacked by rockets.

Inland, Chinese company MCC acquired the 18 billion-rupee (US$223 million) Saindak copper and gold project on a 10-year lease in September 2002. It has been operated by MRDL, with an initial investment of $26 million, since August 2003. Exports from Saindak started the next year.

Under a March 2002 memorandum of understanding, state-owned MCC also agreed to invest $74 million to exploit and develop lead and zinc deposits, estimated at over 14 million tonnes, at the Duddar Lead and Zinc Project, northeast of Gwadar. The project got underway in April 2005.

Zhuzhou Smelter, China’s second-largest zinc producer by capacity, plans to import 50,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate and 20,000 tons of lead a year from Duddar. The company owns less than 40% of the Duddar mine but plans to take its entire output.

The Chinese are also engaged in petroleum exploration in Balochistan. BGP was awarded a $1 million contract in 2001 to survey an area in Dera Bugti, in the province’s heartland. The survey was suspended soon afterwards for security reasons before being resumed the following year.

Sparsely populated Balochistan has a population of only 7.5 million people, yet occupies 44% of the Pakistan’s total area. It is re-emerging as a front line for the US military campaign in Afghanistan, with which it shares a 1,100 kilometer northern border, after playing an important role in the post-1979 US-backed Afghan jihad against occupying Soviet Union forces.

Some analysts also believe that the $5 billion cash lifeline recently proposed by Washington for Pakistan, along with $1.5 billion annual assistance over the next five years, to avert an imminent economic meltdown and destabilization, will go to waste if the US expands its air strike targets to the impoverished province.

Source: The News

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Gwadar port to improve national, provincial economy’

eProperty — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:25:46 +0000

QUETTA: Gwadar deep port would promote massive economic activity in the region which would not only benefit local people but also cast positive impact on overall economy of the province and the country.

District Nazim Gwadar, Abdul Ghafoor Kalmati talking to APP here Friday strongly rejected the apprehensions among some quarters regarding development of the port and said it would help bring Balochistan’s coastal areas into socio-economic mainstream and serve as a catalyst for fast track development of the province.

“Establishment of special economic zones, free trade zone, and Export Processing Zone (EPZ) would attract foreign investment creating innumerable job opportunities for local youth which would directly raise the living standard of their families”, he said

PML (Q) MPA, Sheikh Jaffar Mandokheil said Gwadar seaport is best in the region having geographic potential to link the region.

Gwadar port will not only open up the hinterland but also the people of Mekran who are associated with fishing and agriculture, especially growing dates will have access to easier transportation for dates export to foreign markets.

“Development of an integrated transport system-road and rail links to CARs and rest of the country will also enhance the local people’s access to new avenues for their development and prosperity”, he concluded.

The provincial minister for Fisheries, Hamal Kalmati said for landlocked Central Asian economies, Balochistan offers access to new resources and markets and the prospect of more rapid growth. He said there was no insurgency in the province, just a political protest, and there was a need to talk with Balochistan’s political leaders to take them on board.

He stated that everyone was cooperating with the development of Gwadar and Balochs need to be provided the opportunity to work.

Although there would be massive demographic change in Gwadar, he dismissed the idea that Balochs would become a minority in their own province.

Source: Daily Times

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PM announces 10pc reduction in port charges

eProperty — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 12:46:27 +0000

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday announced a 10 per cent reduction in port charges in order to enhance the port’s operational activities.

He made this announcement while attending a presentation during his visit to the Ministry of Ports and Shipping here.

The Prime Minister said that port charges in Pakistan are high in the region. Cargo handling is sluggish while storage facilities are deficient. This, he said, impedes the flow of trade and adds to the cost of doing business.

The Prime Minister said that since the transfer of Pakistan Marine Academy to the Higher Education Commission in 2004 for turning it into a university/centre of excellence has not materialised, the possibility of shifting its administrative control back to the ministry may be examined.

He said that Gwadar Port is the port of the future and must be developed as per its master plan, positioning it as a hub for trade and trans-shipment in the region.

Gwadar is ideally placed to serve trading needs of Central Asia, Afghanistan and western part of China. For this purpose, he added, “we need to move fast on developing communication infrastructure.”

The prime minister directed the Ministry of Communication to expedite the construction of road network from Gwadar to upcountry to facilitate transportation and enhance port activity.

Source: The News

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Gwadar’s prospects not tied to Musharraf

eProperty — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:12:48 +0000

GWADAR: One cannot understand the logic of importing fertilizer through the Gwadar Port given that most of this is then transported through the Coastal Highway to Karachi from where it makes its way to the rest of the country. But there is a method to the madness, explain local officials of the port.

As Pakistan’s first and only bulk cargo terminal in the private sector, the wastage that is witnessed at other ports is not seen in Gwadar. Here, using state of the art machinery, fertilizer is off-loaded and bagged quickly and cleanly. A port official says that since activity started in December 2008, there has been “no theft, no delays and no strikes.”

Pilferage and waste is as high as 5 per cent of total quantities in other ports, which has made some bulk cargo importers now look at Gwadar as an option. Currently, the Trading Corporation of Pakistan is importing fertilizer through the port. Unlike Karachi and Port Qasim, there are no delays here. “Demurrage on charter ships can be as high as $50,000 per day,” says one official. That is why it is making more sense to import through Gwadar.

Port Singapore Authority (PSA) which is running the port, however, says that Gwadar cannot realize its full potential until the M-8 highway, which will connect Gwadar to Awaran and Ratodero and onwards to Punjab and beyond, is built. It was first billed for opening in 2006 and now this has been pushed to 2011. The port was supposed to open when the highway was built. So there is understandable anger that this has not happened.

There is much anger in Gwadar, with many town dwellers saying that the fortunes of the city have evaporated with the departure of President Musharraf. Once touted as the “Dubai of Pakistan,” Gwadar is now being seen as the “Mirage of Musharraf,” by people who invested millions into the town in the hope that one day it would be the most happening place in the country. So far it has only been a long wait.

Property prices are an indicator of the gloom. In the most prestigious housing area of Gwadar, the Singhar Housing Society, estate agents say that property prices for a 500 square yard plot in Phase 1 have dropped from Rs2.4 million to Rs1.6 million. Similar falls have been witnessed elsewhere too.

But Haji Abdul Qadir, the president of the local Chamber of Commerce, disagrees with these sentiments. He says that Musharraf did deliver on many counts. For one, under his government the grand Coastal Highway was built which connected the town with Karachi, and opened up endless possibilities.

Qadir, who owns a seafood processing factory, has trebled production owing to the highway. “Before, it took three days for my products to reach Karachi. Now it takes one day,” he says. About real estate prices, Qadir says that speculators made a killing. “Now prices will once again rise, but at realistic levels.”

The chamber president says Gwadar’s potential as a port city will be realized once its deep sea port is fully operational. “People have to be patient.”

Gwadar still holds great promise owing to its location at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. Using binoculars, sitting at the grand Pearl Continental Hotel which is located on a mountain overlooking the sea, one can spot the super tankers that make their way in and out of the Persian Gulf.

But the hotel is largely empty as both tourists and businessmen have been scared away by political troubles in Balochistan. The hotel, says one employee, is “barely surviving.”

The Town Nazim, Abdul Majid, says that this is all false propaganda created by “vested interests.” Majid says Gwadar is one of the most peaceful towns in the country, and is almost crime free. “The problem is not violence,” he argues “it is corruption.”

Majid says that the writ of the local government continues to be challenged by the centre. He says he has no money to repair roads and drains and the Gwadar Development Authority, which is supposed to work on infrastructure, has limited its development works to the outskirts of the town There is some truth in what Majid says. It is true that the war being fought by the Balochistan Liberation Army has not reached Gwadar yet. There have been no attacks on installations or government functionaries.

But there is anger. In comparison to other parts of the province, there is a higher rate of literacy. But with that comes frustration, as there are few jobs available. Many companies and government departments have brought in people from other parts of the country and this has only fuelled resentment amongst the locals.

With its historic ties with Oman, the young men who hang around the Gwadar Club and on the pristine beachside, say that their goal is to find work in Muscat. Or to go to Karachi which is about 700 kilometers away.

Salim Baluch, who works at Gwadar Port, says he fears that the frustration of the young men can be exploited by political forces. He is one of the few who have got jobs at the port; otherwise too many outsiders are employed here. “You give an advertisement today and hundreds will answer it. People want work. But the government is doing nothing.” Many in Gwadar feel that the benefits that should come to them are being taken away by outsiders. This feeling is prevalent in other parts of the province too. So far, however, it has not translated into violence. Analysts fear that there may not be much more time to make amends.

Source: The News

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Gwadar prospect’s not tied to Musharraf

eProperty — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:37:50 +0000

The chamber president says Gwadar’s potential as a port city will be realized once its deep sea port is fully operational. “People have to be patient.”

But the hotel is largely empty as both tourists and businessmen have been scared away by political troubles in Balochistan. The hotel, says one employee, is “barely surviving.”

Source: The News

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The limping Gwadar port

eProperty — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:11:54 +0000

The arrival and anchorage of first commercial cargo ship Al-Fahdah carrying 650 tons of dates at the Gwadar deep-sea port on July 22 indicated that the port can handle big cargo vessels. Presently, three berths are functional but significant issues in making the port fully operational have yet to be addressed.

‘There are two key issues in port operations: one is land connectivity and other is land acquisition’, said Khurram Abbas, director PSA Gwadar, while talking to this scribe on phone. He said, ‘the land under possession of Pakistan Navy and coast guards has not yet been handed over to the Singapore Port Authority (PSA) for development of free zone and other port-related infrastructure.’

‘Without port connectivity through rail and road links, goods cannot be transported to Afghanistan, the Central Asian States and other regional countries’, he added.

Abbas said, ‘we need land for the development of a free zone for the port related facilities at East Bay of Gwadar. Without land acquisition, the PSA is unable to develop offices, residential facilities, port back up area in the proposed free zone and provide the traders, industrialists, businessmen, shipping companies, stevedoring firms, transporters with all possible facilities for doing business at Gwadar’.

The ball is in government’s court to make the port fully functional. Under the concession agreement signed with PSA in February 2007, the government was committed to hand over 923 hectares of land to the Singaporean firm by June 2008 on lease for the development of a free zone. The Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) is bound to acquire 350 hectares for ‘free zone area’ in addition to 584 acres in the possession of Pakistan Navy and 70 acres with the coast guards. .

Though 700 km long Makran Coastal Highway links Gwadar with Pasni, Ormara and Karachi, other regional linkages such as Gwadar-Ratodero motorway are yet to be completed. The motorway would link Gwadar with Indus Highway through districts of Turbat, Awaran and Khuzdar. Similarly, no progress has been made on the proposed rail link from Gwadar to Quetta and Zahidan.

Mekran coastal highway is the only link which is being used by a large number of trucks to transport urea and wheat from Gwadar to Karachi. In view of the port operations, which have boosted the trucking activity, the Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) needs to build a truck stand in the port area.

In the absence of truck stand, vehicles are parked on roads and traffic congestion has emerged as a problem in the port area. The long-term solution would come after completion of East Bay Expressway project, which will ensure a smooth flow of vehicles and link the port to the National Highway network.

In this year’s budget, the federal government has earmarked a mere Rs30 million for East Bay Expressway project that would cost Rs3.77 billion, according to one estimate. Gwadar-Ratodero Road project, which will connect Gwadar port with the upcountry, is also facing financial crunch for its timely completion.

Ports and Shipping Minister Babar Khan Ghauri recently told the Senate that the Navy’s occupation of the land was adversely affecting the functioning of the port and could force its closure.

The federal government plans to establish a tax-free zone in the new port city of Gwadar for which transfer of 584-acre land to the Singaporean operator is a prerequisite.

Analysts fear that the Singaporean firm may ultimately go to the Arbitration Court in London, holding the government of Pakistan accountable for defaulting on its contractual obligations. The ministry of defence has refused a free-of-cost transfer of the said land to the GPA for the proposed free zone.

Pakistan Navy had acquired 584 acres of land with seafront from Balochistan government in 1980. On refusal of the Navy to hand over the land, the previous government decided that Pakistan Navy would hand over only 30 acres to GPA for developing the road-rail-link leading to the free zone at Gwadar port.

The defence ministry has been of the view that GPA has long enough waterfront available for mercantile needs and development of free zone. It believes that 584 acres of land with Pakistan Navy is essentially required for defence of maritime interests and for the protection of the port itself.

Another issue in making the port functional has been the delay in fixing the port tariff announced after the arrival of first vessel at Gwadar port in March 2008, a year after the ceremonial opening of the port in March 2008. Ship agents and cargo consultants have been waiting for the announcement of port tariff to start doing the business. ‘We have already fixed tariffs and port charges, which are available on our website,’ says Abbas.

Only a competitive tariff could attract shipping lines to discharge cargoes at Gwadar instead of cruising to Dubai and Karachi and leaving for the next port for loading.

Critics say that the project has been the victim of lethargy and an unprofessional approach. They argue that the port was not ready to start cargo handling at the time of its inauguration in March 2007, as the handling equipment including gantry cranes, post-panamic rubber-tyre cranes and fork lifters were not installed. The installation of the handling equipment took almost eight months. The operationalisation of the port was also delayed to December 2008.

The port began cargo handling from March 15, 2008 and was declared officially functional last December. Ships carrying urea and wheat have so far berthed at the port which can a handle cargo ships up to 0.25 million tons.

Source: The Dawn

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China shelves refinery project at Gwadar

eProperty — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:25:53 +0000

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has to face another setback in attracting foreign investment as China has shelved the Coastal Oil Refinery Project at Gwadar in strategically located Balochistan province, and has deleted it from the list of Financial Development Programme 2009-10 agreed between the two countries.

UAE state run International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) has already suspended the work on the Khalifa oil refinery project after the controversy with Pakistan government over the extension of Managing Director (MD) of Pak-Arab Refinery (Parco) Rasheed Jung’s tenure. Even after granting extension to Parco MD for one year, IPIC has not restarted work due to global recession.

Sources in Petroleum Ministry told Business Recorder that Chinese delegation, that recently visited Pakistan, has formally informed the government of Pakistan that there has been no progress on Coastal Oil Refinery project and, therefore, the project has been deleted from the list of Financial Development Programme for current financial year 2009-10 agreed between Pakistan and China. Sources were of the view that global recession has also forced the Chinese government to shelve the project.

The proposed Coastal Oil Refinery was part of China’s plan to invest $12 billion in multiple projects in Pakistan. The refinery was designed to reach a daily output of 60,000 barrels crude oil. During President Pervez Musharraf’s visit to China in February 2006, China had expressed interest in constructing an oil refinery in Gwadar with an output of refining 60,000 barrels crude oil per day.

After the visit, China was to submit a feasibility report to Planning Commission, but China did not provide the report and rather informed Pakistan that it would not be in a position to start work due to no progress on the project. Pakistan and China had also considered a feasibility study for an oil pipeline from Gwadar port to western China to bring oil from the Persian Gulf. This proposal has also been shelved after China’s refusal to set up oil refinery in Gwader, sources said.

Former President Pervez Musharraf had also offered a “trade corridor” to meet Beijing’s energy requirements and offered help for the construction of the strategic pipeline from Gwadar to its borders, enabling it to import oil from Saudi Arabia. China is heavily dependent on oil from the Gulf that currently passes via a very long route, through the Straits of Malacca under United States influence.

After this oil reach Shanghai, or the Chinese East Coast, it has to cover thousands of miles inland to west of China. By using Coastal Oil Refinery at Gwadar port, Karakoram Highway (KKH) could be much safer, cheaper and shorter route to west of China for oil transportation, a senior official said.

The biggest chunk of Chinese investment in Pakistan is for development projects in the country’s largest strategically located province Balochistan that also include the Saindak copper and gold project in Chaghi, and the lead-zinc-mining project in Lasbela district. Balochistan has been deprived of billions of dollars investment due to shelving of Coastal Oil Refinery Project by China that could generate employment for local people, the official said.

Source: Business Recorder

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Gwadar port facing closure if navy retains govt land: Ghauri

eProperty — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:50:23 +0000

ISLAMABAD: The Gwadar Port may be shut down if the Pakistan Navy does not vacate the 582 hectares of government land it has occupied, Ports and Shipping Minister Babar Khan Ghauri said on Tuesday.

Replying to a supplementary question during the Senate session, he said the navy’s occupation of the land was adversely affecting the functioning of the port and could force its closure. He said three berths of the port were currently functioning, adding a large number of trucks were transporting urea and wheat from Gwadar to the rest of the country. He said it was unfortunate that all the trucks had to travel to Karachi from Gwadar due to the lack of direct links between Gwadar and the other major hubs of the country. Pakistan Railways and the National Highway Authority (NHA) have been urged to expedite work on establishing rail and road links to ensure optimum utilisation of the Gwadar Port facilities, he added.

Walkout: Also on Tuesday, senators from Balochistan staged a token walkout from the Senate to protest the non-representation of their province in the Labour attachés posted abroad. Senator Kalsoom Perveen raised the issue during question hour, saying there were no Baloch attachés among the 21 posted abroad. The other members from Balochistan joined her protest and staged a walkout.

The Senate was also informed that none of the madrassas affiliated with the Wafaqul Madaris Al-Arabia were involved in anti-state activities. Education Minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani told the House that of a total of 15,843 madrassas, 507 had been registered with the government under the Madrassa Reforms Project. He said in addition to their own religious subjects, the project had also made English, Maths, General Science and Pakistan Studies compulsory from primary to secondary level and English, Economics, Pakistan Studies and Computer Science at higher secondary level. He said the project would end by June 2010 unless it was given an extension.

Social Welfare and Special Education Minister Samina Khalid Ghurki informed the House her ministry was currently updating data related to the implementation of a two percent quota for disabled persons in ministries and divisions. She said the current data showed a 0.78 percent shortfall. She said all ministries and provincial governments were being pursued to implement the policy. The Federal Public Service Commission has allowed disabled persons to sit the Civil Service of Pakistan examination in commerce and trade; audit and accounts; information and postal groups, she added.

Source: Daily Times

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First ever Panamax cargo ship anchors at Gwadar

eProperty — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:42:06 +0000

KARACHI: The first ever Panamax cargo ship, Al-Fahdah, berthed at Gwadar deep seaport laden with around 650 metric tonne of dates, said the traders on Wednesday.

With the arrival of Panamax cargo ship at the Gwader deep seaport, the doors are opened for large vessels to arrive in the country, they added. The Panamax ships are the largest ships and are built to carry the maximum amount of cargo.

“The Gwadar deep seaport has proved that it can cater large size cargo ships and it is hoped that more ships carrying wheat and other goods from US and Canada will also be berthed here,” Chief Executive, Pakistan Horticulture Development and Exports Board (PHDEB), Shamoon Sadiq said while talking to Daily Times.

He said PHDEB has finally decided to start work on two of the three modern dates processing plants in collaboration with private sector stakeholders.

He said due to projects’ cost escalation, dollar increase and back out of investors, PHDEB has decided to start construction on one of the plants in Turbat. Under the trade policy three date processing plants will start by year-end one each in Sindh, Balochistan and North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) with a revised cost of Rs 148.6 million, said Shamoon Sadiq, Chief Executive of PHDEB.

“Around Rs 80 million will be incurred on each project as we have already provided land for these projects from respective provincial governments,” Sadiq said.

He said construction of two dates processing plants one each at Khairpur and Dera Ismail Khan at a cost of Rs 80 million each were expected to start within three months. “The projects will be completed within a year while the work on Turbat plant was about to start up-to-the-mark plant, which would be established on public private partnership (PPP) basis” he said.

He said these plants were being built along with cold storage facilities. Pakistan, with an estimated 730 thousand tonnes annual production, ranks fourth in dates production and fifth in its exports around the world.

Under PPP, the Sindh government has provided two acres of land for this purpose. The Sindh government also released Rs 21.946 million from the Export Development Fund (EDF) which would take care of the cost of plant machinery, equipment, vehicles and other civil works.

The Board had set 2009 as a deadline for completion of the Turbat plant, which would produce an estimated 2400 metric tonnes of processed dates during the 150 working days.

The proposed plant would be based on multiple products including pitted and stuffed dates and would increase the level of value addition.

He said the foreign made equipment would be bought from the local market if needed, adding that the Internal Financial Rate of Return of the project was estimated at 21.80 percent, the IERR at 12.30 percent and the benefit cost ratio at 1.08 percent. Presently, the country has 54 date processing units and country is the top dates exporter in the world after exporting more than 90,500 metric tonnes of dates during 2008-09, he added.

He said around 30 countries including China, India, Japan, USA, Canada, European Union were purchasing the country’s date produce.

He said buyers from India, China, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan had shown great interest in making deals for dates.

Source: Daily Times

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Pakistani, Kashmiri expatriates urged to invest in Pakistan

eProperty — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 08:30:27 +0000

QUETTA – The Balochistan government has allocated 46,000 acres of lands for setting up a tax-free industrial zone at Gwadar, said Balochistan Industries Minister Syed Ehan Shah while talking to The Nation here on Saturday.
He said that the federal cabinet had approved the tax free zone for a time period of 10 years, adding that under the light of the federal cabinet decision, the Ministry of Industries and Production had asked the provincial government for identification of land. He said that the provincial govt had identified 46,000 acres of lands at east bay in Gwadar and sent it to the federal govt for issuance of formal notification.
He said that Federal Industries and Production Minister Manzoor Watto during his recent visit to Quetta had assured that formal notification of tax free zone would be issued soon by the ministry.
He said that the federal government was paying full attention towards industrialisation in Balochistan and added that this was encouraging for province that Rs 3b had been allocated for industrialisation in Balochistan. The minister said that Balochistan was confronted with problem of unemployment and the incentives announced by the federal govt would help create more jobs opportunities in the province.
He said that Balochistan is rich in precious stones and federal govt was also launching a programme for stone development. He hoped that stone development programme would prove more beneficial for local people of Balochistan. He said that during meeting with federal minister, the provincial govt stressed the need for promotion of small industries in province. “Federal minister has assured that SMEDA would extend every possible cooperation to provincial govt for promotion of small industries.

Source: Business Recorder

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