The minister, who had come here to inaugurate the extension of the Hyderabad Site, was talking to journalists during a visit to the local press club on Wednesday.

He said that 300 acres of land was being added to the Hyderabad Site to speed up the industrialisation of Hyderabad and the interior of Sindh.

He said that 50 acres of land had also been earmarked in the Site area for the development of small industrial estate.

He said the development of infrastructure at the small industrial estate was proceeding at a hectic pace. He said applications for allotment of industrial plots would be invited within a month.

Similar small and cottage industrial estates would also be established in Mithi, Mirpurkhas, Tando Mohammad Khan, Bhitshah, Matiari, Hala, Kashmore and other towns, he added.

He said that handicrafts of Sindh were very popular in foreign countries and added that there was a great potential for exports of these items.

He said that what was needed was a systematic and organised development of cottage industry. The allotment of plots in the small industry estate Hyderabad would be made through balloting but preference would be given to the entrepreneurs of Hyderabad, he said.

The agro based industry was no less important as more than 70 per cent of the population was directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture, the minister said.

The focus of the Sindh government is on the development of agro based industry, the minister said and added that agro based units for the preservation of fruits and vegetables would be established in Sukkur, Larkana, Nawabshah, Khairpur and other towns.

He said due to nonscientific methods of harvesting and marketing, 30 to 40 per cent of mango crop which had a worldwide market, was destroyed while thousands of tons of tomato and date for which Khairpur is very famous, were also destroyed.

It was an irony that despite huge production of tomatoes, ketchup was being imported, the minister said.

The minister, who was accompanied by an entrepreneur from Saudi Arabia, said that the possibilities of setting up a date processing plant in Khairpur was being discussed with the foreign guest.

He made it clear that the industrial plots were meant for setting industrial units and not for making money and added that he would see that the industrial plots were not converted into real estate business.

He said the new industrial zones would hopefully be granted tax holiday for ten years to attract investors and added that the total payment of plots could also be made in 10 years.

He said the government will do everything possible to provide protection and incentives to investors.

Answering another question about the appointment of outsiders in the industrial units of Sindh and the violation of minimum wages act by the industrialists, the minister said that he would talk to the labour minister in this regard.