Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that his government has created an investment-friendly atmosphere in the province, adding that the government has provided all necessary facilities and security to the national and foreign investors. This is why leading multinational companies are showing interest in investing in different sectors of the province, he said.
He expressed these views while talking to a delegation of China Shandong International firm led by its Chairman Sun Liang at the chief minister house. The other members of the delegation included Cheng Yan, Zhang Yangjun, Wang Sinjun, Wang Xu, Mr Sun Lei.
The chief minister was accompanied by Provincial Ministers Murad Ali Shah, Jam Khan Shoro, Chief Secretary Siddique Memon, and Principal Secretary Alamuddin Bullo among others.
Shah said that Karachi is the financial capital of Pakistan and the headquarters of banks, financial institutions and business are located in the city. The province of Sindh is a regional power house of the future in the sense that it has vast coal fields in Thar which can produce 100,000 MW of electricity for at least 300 years, he said, adding that the wind corridor has the potential of generating 50,000 MW of electricity. Sindh produces 56 per cent oil and 78 per cent of the gas of the country, he added.
He said that Sindh has vast agricultural base with 5.45 million hectares of cultivable land and 350 kilometres long coastline base with tremendous opportunities for the tourism and fisheries sector.
Minister for Finance and Development Syed Murad Ali Shah said that Sindh government has made necessary legislation to facilitate the investors. “There is a Sindh Public Procurement Act which governs all public procurements, including Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects and it has been developed according to World Bank’s guidelines.
He said that Sindh has first Public-Private Partnership Act, 2010 enacted under the guidelines of Asian Development Bank (ADB) created PPP Policy Board under Sindh PPP Act, 2010. This is a centralised forum in which all departmental agencies are present and are being represented, he said.
Additional Secretary (Development) Mohammad Waseem said that the projects executed under the PPP mode, include Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas Dual Carriageway project, Jhirk-Mulla Katiar bridge project and NICH Security and Fire Safety contract, Sindh Nooriabad Gas power project, Karachi Thatta Dual Carriageway Project, Education Management ORGS project and Health PPP projects.
He said that the Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas Dual-Carriageway project is a toll-based model and has 27 years of concession life. It is a 4-lane 67 kilometre road launched for Rs6.2 billion by a Korean company. The project has 40 per cent of commercial debt, 30 per cent of soft loan and 30 per cent of equity. The construction on this project was completed in 2012 and it is operating successfully as a self-sustainable model, he added.
Waseem further informed that the Jhirk Mulla Katiar Bridge is a Rs 4.5 billion project and it is an annuity-based model with 27 years concession life and two years construction period. The project has 25 kilometre two lane road plus 1.7 kilometre bridge. There is 75 per cent commercial loan and 25 per cent equity. It is likely to be completed by the mid of 2016, he said.
Syed Murad Shah talking about the upcoming projects said that Ghotki-Kandhkot project, Hyderabad Badin Road Project, Tando Mohammad Khan- Badin Road are in the pipeline.
