KARACHI: The Chairman of the Businessmen Group and a former president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Siraj Kassam Teli, has said that the Sindh government and SITE Limited in consultation with the business and industrial community of SITE area will have to make sure that the allocated funds are utilized transparently and in the right direction while the overall timeline for the various road infrastructure development projects in SITE area must be clearly defined and publicized.

Welcoming the approval of Rs1.37 billion by the chief minister of Sindh for reconstruction of the dilapidated roads in the Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE) Ltd., which had been pending for a long time, he said keeping in view the grievances of the industrialists in SITE area, it is really essential to devise effective strategies to fast-track the infrastructure rebuilding work so that the task of roads in SITE area could be completed within a year.

He pointed out that it has been agreed that a six-member committee consisting of three representatives each from the SITE Limited and the SITE Association of Industry would be formed to review and monitor the progress of infrastructure development work in SITE area.

However, it is also necessary to transfer the entire amount of Rs1.37 billion to a separate account with signing authority for release of funds from both sides, SITE Limited and SITE Association, which would certainly ensure full utilization of allocated funds in a transparent manner for the precise purpose of constructing of roads.

Siraj Kassam Teli, who led a delegation of the SITE Association to a meeting at the Chief Minister's House, said they were very grateful to the chief minister of Sindh for thoroughly listening to the grievances of the industrialists of SITE and hoped

that the infrastructure development work would be expedited and completed at the earliest.

He said that the condition of roads in SITE had worsened to such an extent that even commuting by a jeep had become almost impossible in this particular area while the business and industrial community was suffering severe losses every day because of the damages to their goods in transit due to the broken roads.

Siraj Teli appreciated the chief minister's decision to hand over collection of property tax to SITE Ltd that would surely help in improving the rate of recovery and these funds could be spent on the development of the SITE area.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020