"One year ago, only 7 or 8 factories were operational in Nooriabad due to shift of industries to other areas of the country, but now owing to secure environment and maximum facilitation from the government, industrialists were returning and at least 95 units were in production," he said.
FPCCI team led by its President, Chaudhry Mohammad Saeed included Vice Presidents FPCCI, Akbar Abdullah, Khalid Mahmood Khan, Ghulam Sabir Khan and members of its managing committee Dr Mushtaq, Noorwala, Mumtaz Memon, ex-presidents Tariq Sayeed and Raja Abdul Rehman.
The Governor said the government considered the business community as the real builders of national economy and it wanted all possible facilitation to enhance their role in this regard.
He invited concrete proposals from the FPCCI and other trade associations for the promotion of trade and investment so that the government could move in specific way and formulate result-oriented polices and plans.
Talking about the law and order situation, the governor told the business community that Citizen-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) was being equipped with sophisticated network and expanded to the entire Sindh province. Till date, it operates only in Karachi, he added.
"CPLC has earned credibility through its visible contribution in checking crime in the city," he remarked.
He also briefed the delegation about the working of law enforcement agencies and apprised of bottlenecks in this regard. Lack of resources was the main problem, he said.
He said cultural reforms were being brought about in police to win more confidence of the people, which was essential for curbing crimes and promoting an environment where every one feels secure and lives a respectable life.
He said prosecution process was enhanced to supplement the police performance effectively.
The Governor noted that the significant increase in trade and investment in the province, including growing interest from foreign investors proved the improvement of the law and order situation.
He also listed the development projects in progress and the future plans to improve the city's infrastructure including construction of more flyovers and underpasses for smooth flow of traffic.
When the FPCCI delegation drew attention of Sindh Governor, Dr Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan towards disrupted supply electricity to industries, he said Hubco-KESCO link would be operational within next 14 months, which would bridge the gap between supply and demand.
At present, the supply was short by at least 400 MW, he said, adding, Karachi needed 2000 MW daily.
"For the betterment of supply situation further, we have also talked to the Federal government for power generation through gas," he added.
To another point, he assured that the Sindh government had made comprehensive plan to maintain environmental standards.
"We have done a lot of work including detailed studies to manage the solid waste of the city," he added.
He said 6,000 to 7,000 tones of waste was being created in the city daily and only 60 percent was lifted that also was not properly disposed of.
He sought specific proposals from the business community to improve environment as the government had serious concern in this regard.
The Governor said overall, the things were moving in the right direction due to wise and result-oriented polices of President Pervez Musharraf and hard work of his team specially Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz.
Sindh Minister for Industries, M Adil Siddiqui, who was present in the meeting asked the businessmen to inform him about the incentives and facilities being provided to them by Punjab government so that the Sindh province could be made equally attractive for industrialisation.