KARACHI (January 21 2004): The Rice Export Corporation of Pakistan (Reap) is to set up a rice export free zone on 125 acres of land in Nooriabad. The Reap members have been allotted plots through balloting conducted by the Managing Director of Site Limited at a simple ceremony.

The Reap has thus became the first exporters' association in the country to have a free export zone for its members with a view to pushing exports from 600 million dollar to one billion dollar by the end of current financial year.

The idea of setting up a rice free zone was first floated when Muhammadmian Soomro was the Governor of Sindh, but he described it disadvantageous to the exporters, rice millers and growers of the Sindh.

However, rich tributes were paid to the services of Abdul Rahim Janoo for the development of rice exports and leading the Reap from a dormant trade body to a vibrant entity which now not only owns a modern Reap House, but also an export free zone also.

Dring last Ramazan, Muhammadmian Soomro, when he was acting President, announced an amendment for the allotment of land to the Reap members for setting up the rice free zone, paving the way to translate the idea into reality within two months.

The tributes were also paid to the Reap by the Chairman, Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), Lieutenant Colonel Syed Akbar Hussain (Retd), who said that he was a witness to the fall of rice exports at the hands of the defunct Rice Export Corporation of Pakistan (RECP) and rise of export under the aggressive leadership of Abdul Rahim Janoo during his two-year tenure as the Reap Chairman.

He said that remains of the RECP empire at Pipri still existed and offered a great opportunity for the Reap to build a modern edifice of the rice exports.

He offered the Reap to consider setting up a rice export free zone in Pipri using the old RECP structures.

The EPZA Chairman told the Reap members that the lucrative incentives of an export free zone could be provided to the Reap members at Nooriabad or elsewhere.

The first and second plots, measuring one acre each, have been reserved for a mosque and a welfare hospital, which would provide free treatment not only to the rice factory workers, but also to the local people, who would also get them jobs in the rice free zone.

The Managing Director of the Site Limited, Gul Muhammad Rind, said in his speech that the setting up of a zone in Nooriabad would attract new investments in the country, and for him, there was no difference in investment, be it local or foreign, because both resulted in development and creating jobs.

Rind promised to allot more land to the Reap members in a new scheme because, he said, that he could not refuse request of a person like Rahim Janoo whose services to the rice trade were very well known.

The current Chairman of Reap, Barrister Syed Najaf Hussain Shah, said in his speech that by holding an open ballot for allotment of plots in the export free zone, the Reap had become the only trade body in the country to perform its functions in a transparent manner since there was not a single complaint about the allotment of plots.

Also present in the meeting were the Secretary, Site Limited, Saqib Soomro; Reap Vice-Chairman, Arshad Mahmood, and the President, Reap Allotment Committee, Mohammad Hussain Khandwala.

Courtesy Business Recorder