Sarhad Development Authority (SDA) will launch 13 development projects in the province under a three-year plan.

The projects have been included in the current annual development plan (ADP). Officials said the provincial government would allocate Rs 515 million, while the federal government over a period of three years would provide another Rs 170 million.

Pleading anonymity, a senior official told Daily Times that the government had promised another Rs 500 million to the authority for upgradation and improvement of the provincial industrial infrastructure.

Under this plan, the SDA was going to install state-of-the-art firefighting equipment in industries as well as purchase firefighting vehicles.

Besides, a boundary wall around Hayatabad Industrial Estate would be erected to ensure security, while sewage treatment plants would be established in various industrial estates to convert the industrial effluent into pure water.

The official said that three new industrial estates would be established in the coming years. Of them, one would be established near Rashakay Interchange on Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway, second Pak-China Industrial Zone at Hatar and the third at Khushal Garh in Kohat.

The official said around 63,000 people were working in the provincial industries out of which 42,000 were employed in projects completed by the SDA. He said the authority had 65 percent share in provision of employment, while 70 per cent investment in industrial sector was coming through the SDA.

Of the 1,964 industrial units in NWFP, he said 842 were established by the SDA with its industrial zones in Hatar, Gadoon, Nowshera and DI Khan. Another industrial estate was going to be established in Jalozai, Nowshera district shortly.

The official claimed that Nowshera Sheet Glass, Nizampur Cement Plant and Chashma Sugar Mills, D I Khan, were initially planned by SDA. However, later the projects were taken over by different stakeholders.

Since its inception, the SDA has performed a lead role in the industrial development by establishing around 13 large and medium units across the province.

The major units included a sugar mills, leather tanneries, maize and corn factory, cold storages and water supply schemes. The official said most of those units were privatized under the government policy.

About the closure of many industrial units, he said most of them were closed by the industrialists themselves by declaring the units sick.

He said some people took bank loans to establish industrial units and then got them written off by declaring their units sick.

Other reasons for closure of the units included financial problems, improper marketing and withdrawal of facilities granted earlier by the government.

The official said there were around 300 sick units in NWFP needing revival.