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Business Recorder
22-04-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Concern over precarious water supply in SITE area
KARACHI: Patron-in-Chief Zubair Motiwala, Chief Coordinator Saleem Parekh, President Ahmed Azeem Alvi of SITE Association of Industry and APTPMA Regional Chairman Anwer Aziz have expressed concern over precarious water supply position in SITE area because of less supply of water from KWSC to SITE Ltd through two direct connections and supposed to receive 8 MGD water daily basis. Water supply has been curtailed or being supplied at low pressure as a result of which the industries are compelled to get meagre supply of water through bowsers. The situation has become worst lately because of reduction of subsoil water supply resulting in closure of factories. Due to precarious shortage of water all industries, especially export oriented industries, are suffering huge losses and facing non-fulfilment of export orders due to which the country's reputation is at stake. At this age of intense global competition, the cost of production, which is already higher than regional competitors, has escalated manifold because the industries are procuring water from the tanker mafia. Water shortage has crippled industrial and business activities. An urgent joint meeting of Industrialists of SITE Association of Industry and All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association was held under the Chairmanship of M Zubair Motiwala at SITE Association of Industry. A committee has been formed under the Chairmanship of Saleem Parekh to deal with water issues with the Federal and Sindh governments. Prominent among those present in the meeting were Zulfiqar Ali Chaudhary, M Iqbal Arbi, M Karman Arbi, M Iqbal Lakhany, Altaf Shekhani and others. Zubair Motiwala emphasized that water shortage will negatively impact the export target and foreign exchange earnings. He said that Karachi Industrial areas are paying 50% of the country's taxes, but it continues to receive unfair treatment. Anwer Aziz said that 40% of Textile Processing Industries in Pakistan are located in SITE Industrial area and water is the basic raw material of Textile Processing Industries, especially valued added Textiles. Paucity of water will lead to a complete closure of Textile Processing Industries leading to massive unemployment and industrial unrest. He added that the new tariff scenario of reciprocal tariffs will also seriously affect Pakistani textile share in USA due to higher cost. He advised that the 90 days' reprieve by President Trump should give stakeholders and government the opportunity to revisit the deficiencies in supply of continuous water, power and gas. Curtailment of textile production will upset the production and shipment of final products. He urged the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Chief Minister Sindh, and Sindh Minister of Industries to immediately take cognizance of the crisis and depute teams to resolve water issue of SITE Area on urgent basis. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
21-04-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Water scarcity hits SITE industries
The industrialists believe that addressing these fundamental issues will unlock the tremendous potential of the HITE to accommodate more industries. photo: file The major industrial sector stakeholders including SITE Association of Industry (SAI) Patron-in-Chief Zubair Motiwala, SAI President Ahmed Azeem Alvi, Chief Coordinator Saleem Parekh and All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA) Regional Chairman Anwer Aziz have voiced grave concern over the worsening water supply situation in the SITE industrial area. They said water supply from the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation through two direct connections remained alarmingly low despite the allocation of eight million gallons per day to the zone, posing a major threat to industrial operations. Water supply has been curtailed or is being delivered at low pressure, forcing industries to rely on limited water through bowsers. The situation has worsened recently following a decline in subsoil water levels, resulting in the closure of several factories. Owing to this acute water shortage, all industries, particularly the export-oriented ones, are suffering huge losses and facing difficulties in fulfilling export orders, which puts the country's reputation at stake. In this era of intense global competition, the cost of production, which is already higher than regional competitors, has escalated manifold because the industries are procuring water from the tanker mafia. Water shortage has crippled industrial and business activities. An emergency meeting of industrialists belonging to the SAI and APTPMA was held under the chairmanship of Motiwala at the SAI office. During the meeting, a dedicated committee was formed, headed by Chief Coordinator Saleem Parekh, to engage with both federal and provincial governments on resolving the water supply issue. Motiwala lamented that water shortage would negatively impact the export target and foreign exchange earnings, adding that Karachi industrial areas were paying 50% of the country's taxes, but they continued to face unfair treatment. APTPMA Regional Chairman Anwer Aziz said about 40% of textile processing units in Pakistan were located in the SAI area and water was the basic raw material for them, especially the valued-added textile. "Paucity of water will lead to complete closure of the processing units, leading to massive unemployment and industrial unrest." He was of the view that the new scenario after the reciprocal tariffs would also affect Pakistani textile share in the US due to higher costs. However, the 90-day reprieve given by President Trump should give the stakeholders and the government an opportunity to revisit the deficiencies in the continuous supply of water, power and gas.
