Ship building yards at Karachi and Gwadar: Gilani forms body to finalise sites

[Naveed Yaseen]

ZAHEER ABBASI
ISLAMABAD (October 01 2008): Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Minister for Ports and Shipping Qamar Zaman Kaira to finalise the sites for building shipyards at Karachi and Gwadar.

The Prime Minister constituted the committee following a meeting to review the progress on the development of shipbuilding industry in the country here on Tuesday. Members of the committee include Secretary of Port and Shipping; Secretary, Defence Production, Managing Director of Karachi Shipyard, Chairmen of Port Qasim Authority and Gwadar Port Authority.

Gilani expressed the government's resolve for the development of shipbuilding industry in the country, saying that setting up of two shipyards in Karachi and Gwadar would go a long way in catering to domestic as well as international needs.

He stressed the need for making Pakistan a leading shipbuilding country of the region, thus contributing towards economic development and poverty alleviation. Highlighting Pakistan's unique geo-strategic location and trained manpower, the Prime Minister said that this advantage needed to be leveraged to enter the shipbuilding industry in a big way through joint ventures with reputable international shipyards.

He said shipyards not only generated employment opportunities, but also developed wide range of ancillary industries. Earlier, the Managing Director of Karachi Shipyard briefed the Prime Minister about the progress made on the development of shipbuilding.

He also said that two world class shipyards on joint venture basis were proposed to be built at Gwadar and Port Qasim. These projects would attract major investment from foreign sources, he said.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Ports and Shipping Qamar Zaman Kaira; Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral M Afzal Tahir; Secretary, Defence Production; Secretary, Ports and Shipping; Secretary, Planning; Secretary, Board of Investment (BoI), and the Managing Director of Karachi Shipyard.

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