The Sindh government is going to launch a project to revive the sick industrial units in the province. The provincial government has also expedited efforts to attract local and foreign investment in the industrial sector to promote industrialisation. Under the plan devised by the provincial industries department, the vacant industrial plots would be sold out to the potential investors. In this regard, the industries department is collecting data on all the industrial estates in the province and has formulated an incentives package for reviving the sick industrial units. According to the government survey, various reasons caused the closure of industrial units in the province. It reveals that 23.25% of the units fell sick because of a lack of good management, 16.74% faced working capital constraints, 13.95% inadequate feasibility reports and 13.95% marketing problems. The findings were compiled after collecting data through interviews with owners/managers of industrial units and reports of the directorate of Sindh Small Industries Corporation.

Commenting on the situation, Zubair Sajjad, an industrialist associated with the textile sector in the Korangi area of Karachi, said that huge capital was required to set up new units, which usually took at least three to four years to start production, whereas rehabilitation of a sick industrial unit required small investment. “In order to increase the country’s GDP, uninterrupted supply of electricity and gas to industries must be ensured so that when these units are revived, they would run on a sustainable basis,” he said. He sought special tax rebates as well as interest-free loans for investors and traders so that the sick industries could stand on their own feet and move Pakistan on the path of economic development. He said that many industrial units had been closed down due to global recession and local energy crisis, with production activities declining by 10% in the industrial sector.

Sajjad further said that the government would have to take special measures to revive the economy through promoting industrialisation. He also advised the owners of ailing industrial units to contact the trade bodies for necessary assistance. The number of sick units in the Sindh province is estimated to be around 2,000. Most such units lie in industrial estates in Kotri, Nooriabad and Korangi. Major units are textile factories, which wrapped up operations due to electricity and gas shortages and non-availability of water. The key target of the provincial government’s scheme is small units in the interior Sindh, including rice husking mills, ginning factories and steel re-rolling units.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)