Daily Times

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday urged the British government to trace out the engineers and the firm which constructed the world’s largest barrage in Sukkur.

He said this in a meeting with British Minister of State for Trade and Investment and Minister for London Greg Hands.

The minister was accompanied by British High Commissioner Thomas Drew, Acting Deputy High Commissioner Steve Crossman, Private Secretary Grace McDonagh, Head of Trade Mathew Lister and Head of Trade London Lisa Weedon. The CM was assisted by Minister Excise and Taxation Mukesh Chawla, Chairman P&D Board Mohammad Waseem, Principal Secretary to CM Sohail Rajput, Secretary Finance Hassan Naqvi and Chairperson SBI Naheed Memon.

The Chief Minister said the Sukkur Barrage was constructed by the British in 1932. He added that the construction of a new barrage is a gigantic task but for next 20 to 25 years the barrage can be given a new life if it is rehabilitated by the same firm and experts who had constructed it.

“No matter, if the British government cannot extend financial support but it must help us to trace the firm and its experts who had constructed the barrage so that their expertise could be obtained to rehabilitate it,” he said.

The Chief Minister who also holds the portfolio of the Irrigation Department said the barrage was constructed in 1932. It has completed its logical life but the Sindh government has been carrying out its repair and maintenance work, therefore it still irrigates the land.

The CM said Sindh was rich in resources. The wind and solar corridor have capacity to generate 50,000MW of electricity if proper investment is made.

He also pointed out the investment opportunities in transport sector and said that his government has initiated Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode of investment.

“This is successfully working in Sindh and our model is being replicated by other provinces also,” he said. The British minister noted the matter taken up by the chief minister and assured him to explore ways and means to open the avenue of investment in Sindh.

He showed his interest in the investment in tourism sector. He also showed interest to work on Moenjo Daro to make one of the largest tourist areas.

The chief minister nominated Chairman P&D Mohammad Waseem to coordinate with British High Commission to carry forward various proposals discussed in the meeting.

Separately, the CM expressed his displeasure on the direct deduction of around Rs 6 billion from the account of the Sindh government.

“This is unacceptable and must be taken seriously to recover the amount which is only meat for people of Sindh and their development.”

He said this while presiding over a joint meeting of Excise & Taxation Department and Sindh Revenue Board. The meeting was attended by Minister Excise Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Secretary Excise and Taxation Haleem Shaikh, DG Excise Shoaib Siddiqui, Chairman SRB Khalid Mahmood and Advisor SRB Mushtaq Kazmi.

Published in Daily Times, September 21^st 2017.