Faisalabad industrial estate ‘sold out’

Management looks for additional land to extend industrial park

FAISALABAD: The entire 4,500 acres of land in Faisalabad’s industrial complex has been sold out, suggesting enthusiasm among the local and foreign investors as the city is expected to become a hub of commercial activities after the eastern route of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) becomes operational.

In the industrial estate, multinational companies have started establishing their special corners. The management of the Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company has started searching for additional land to expand the project.



City overview

Businesses in the city had suffered because of electricity and gas crises, which led to massive layoffs in the textile sector and many big names either shifted abroad or closed their businesses.

For last two and half years, the situation has gradually improved. Many international and local firms have purchased land for industry, said Aamir Saleemi, Chief Operating Officer of the company, while talking to The Express Tribune.

He said that after functioning of all units, the country’s exports could see a double digit growth.

Thousands of workers will get jobs in the industrial park, partially addressing unemployment issue in the third largest city of the country.

The city lies on the eastern route of the CPEC and it is expected to be a major hub of commercial activities in the years ahead.



Logistics

The plot in the estate would cost Rs6.3 million per acre, with the plots categorised from two to 24-acre land.

Investors have to pay the price of land in four-year instalments and construction work can be started after payment of the first instalment. The owner of plot cannot sell the plot to other investors. A two-year time would be offered to the industrialists to invest on the land. If the investor cannot establish the factory in the given time, he has to surrender the property to the authority, he added.

He said that the estate management company has a policy to speed up the process of industrialisation in the industrial park.

“The businessmen who are installing their units in the industrial city can enjoy 10 years tax exemption. The import of machinery and raw material for industry will also be exempted from duties,” said Saleemi.

He said that the industrial park will need 480 megawatts (MW) electricity to provide uninterrupted energy to the industries. A 500MW coal based power plant will be installed to fulfil the need.

Some international firms have purchased land to install their own power generation units. Daewoo international has purchased land with the coordination of Treet Corporation Pakistan to install a dry battery unit. This would see an investment of millions of dollars.



The Shandong Ruyi Group too will also be investing $2 billion and needs 35,000 workers, said the COO. United Kingdom based Ashmore Fund would invest $80 million in Faisalabad to manufacture a tin packaging industry. This would be the first of its kind industry in Pakistan.

The first Halal food project, furniture city, clusters of weaving and dying industries and an operational steel mill are, among others, a few projects to be found in the industrial park.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2016.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.