Re: Daimler-Chrysler to Invest in Pakistan
Good news! In another news we’re going to see ‘London Taxi on city roads by next month’](http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\06\16\story_16-6-2006_pg11_8).
ISLAMABAD: British taxis equipped with modern technology such as satellite tracking will be running on roads in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi by next month, Umar Ahmad Ghuman, state minister for privatisation and investment, said on Thursday.
The government has allowed duty-free import of 300 taxis on trial basis, while Prime Transport Limited, a company owned by a US based Pakistani, will invest $1 billion for an assembly plant for London Taxi (LTI) of UK at Gharo in Sindh, Ghuman told a press conference at Parliament House.
Ghuman told reporters that President General Pervez Musharraf will inaugurate the London Taxi terminal at Karachi Airport by the end of next month, while Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will perform the ground breaking ceremony of the LTI assembly plant at Gharo, for which 300 acres of land has been allocated.
He said the government aimed to provide people with a safe, economical and reliable taxi service.
The state minister said the LTI plant will assemble 18,000 taxis annually in Pakistan, out of which 9,000 taxis would be exported and the remaining will operate within the country. The export of 9,000 taxis is expected to earn $2.8 billion annually, he said. The 2,400 cc London Taxi which is priced at 42,000 pounds in the UK will be available for around 20,000 pounds in Pakistan, he said.
The minister said that Dubai Port World (DPW) of UAE will construct three new modern colonies in Karachi with an investment of $15 billion, adding that an MoU in this regard had been signed between DPW and the Ministry of Ports and Shipping.
He said the DPW will build housing units in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad which will not only overcome the six million shortage of housing units in the country but will help check property prices.
The minister said that Daimler Chrysler of USA will establish its assembly plant near Sheikhupura, which will produce Mercedes-Benz trucks, buses and cars. He said that Volkswagen, Renault and Jetta were also expected to set up manufacturing plants in Pakistan.