Nuclear power plant: Zardari will visit China to finalise deal, says minister

Minister of state for investment Salim H Mandviwala has disclosed that President Asif Zardari would visit China to finalise an agreement on nuclear power project because China had this technology. Solar, wind, hydro and coal resources were also being utilised to meet the shortage of electricity in Pakistan and these would be the cheapest resources for power generation.
Addressing the executive committee of Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry chaired by Anis Ahmed Sheikh and attended by FPCCI President Tanvir Ahmed Sheiklh, former Punjab minister for industries Khawaja Muhammad Jalaluddin Roomi and others.
The Minister disclosed that the Government was introducing a comprehensive cotton policy and an attractive package for spinning industry, which would revive the dying industry. The Minister said that present government was introducing special economic zones on private-public partnership and pure private basis where investors would be facilitated and there would be ten years and five years tax holiday for the industry.
And 50 to 3000 acres plots would be developed in these economic zones. He said that mark-up rate was being reduced to 10 to 12 percent for the revival of industry. He said that though IMF and world bank had opposed the decrease in mark-up rate because it must be equal to inflation rate. But we had differed with these financial institutions and decided to cut the mark-up rate.
He said that our GDP growth rate had increased to 4 percent while our target was of 3.54 percent. He dispelled this impression that foreign investment had stopped and said that Procter & Gamble had invested 100 million dollars in Karachi project while a Saudi firm based at Dubai had invested 100 million dollars in expansion and increasing the capacity of Port Qasim.
Similarly Argentine was investing in Lahore in a joint venture with Feroz Sons. A project was being developed in Bhalwal with foreign assistance. He said that mobile power generating units had reached the country but their rates of electricity are too much.
Khawaja Jalal-uddin Roomi said "we had reservations about the moratorium given by the State Bank and said that it must be across the board and its duration should be two years. Khawaja Muhammad Yousaf, Shamshad Jafari and Mirza Ali Ahmed also spoke.