HYDERABAD: Once considered a model industrial area, Hyderabad SITE has become a picture of neglect by government suffering from a host of issues that hamper sustained industrial growth, according to Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) president Adeel Ahmed Siddiqui.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday Siddiqui urged the Sindh government to pay serious attention to Hyderabad’s industrial area and appealed it to ensure allotment of plots to industrialists for which they had paid Rs25.5 million in advance 16 years back.

He said that over 400 industrial units existed in Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE) but the area was hit by serious issues and needed massive reforms.

He said that the state of infrastructure in SITE was inadequate to meet the needs of functioning industrial units.

For instance, he said, water supply lines had developed leakages at many places before they reached the industrial area, forcing industrialists to turn to private tanker mafia to meet their water needs and they were getting contaminated water. The same was the case with drainage which reminded one that SITE was located in a slum area, he said.

He said that concrete drains were built only in a few sectors of SITE and it was not possible to save the area from getting inundated during rain.

Encroachments, he said, dotted the entire landscape of Hyderabad SITE as hotels and cabins had been sprung up to destroy industrial environment. Environmental pollution was leaving a negative impact on industrial products, he said.

He reminded the government that HCCI members had paid Rs25.5m in advance for SITE phase-II to SITE management on July 8, 2008. HCCI had been in correspondence with the SITE management over the issue but the latter appeared least bothered about their issues, he said.

It appeared, he said, as if the phase-II did not exist on ground in official papers. It had caused unrest and mistrust among industrialists. Despite poor economic conditions industrialists were paying Rs60bn annual taxes cumulatively to Sindh Revenue Board and Federal Board of Revenue as per safe estimates while tax contribution to other government bodies was in addition to it, he said.

Siddiqui said that Sindh chief minister and provincial minister for industries Jam Ikramullah Dharejo were struggling for industrial growth but trickle-down effect of their efforts was not reaching industrialists.

He emphasised the need for bringing reforms in SITE and appealed to the chief minister to take steps for improving conditions in the industrial area.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2023