Garment city gets $18m investment

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry has announced plans to establish a 400-acre apparel zone at Port Qasim, with its first phase projected to create more than 138,000 jobs and generate annual exports of around $2.2 billion, according to a statement issued on Monday.

Chairing a meeting on a proposed garment city project, the minister said the export-oriented manufacturing cluster would focus on high-value apparel production and attract private investment.

According to the project plan, the first phase would cover 250 acres, with 35% allocated for internal roads, utilities and green areas. The project is envisaged as a public-private partnership.

The proposed commercial structure comprises 32 industrial plots of five acres each, although the plot size could be reduced to two or three acres to accommodate more investors and manufacturing units.

The Port Qasim Authority (PQA) would provide infrastructure and utilities. Each industrial unit would have access to up to 400,000 gallons of water a day, two megawatts of on-grid electricity and 23,100 pounds of industrial gas a day at 8 pounds per square inch, enough to support requirements for 10 tonnes of steam.

For the overall project, planned utility capacity includes 13 million gallons of water a day, 64MW of on-grid electricity and 750,000 pounds of industrial gas a day.

Chaudhry said private-sector participation would be a key component of the project. Under the plan, a Pakistani textile and denim manufacturing company, Artistic Milliners, would establish a manufacturing unit with an investment of more than $18 million, incorporating vertical integration and green technologies.

The project would also have a one-window mechanism for exporters, including streamlined export processing, specialised customs desks and dedicated transport corridors.

Projections presented at the meeting put first-phase employment at 138,125 jobs and annual exports at $2.2 billion. The project also aims to raise the average export value of garments to around $8 per piece.

The minister said the initiative was part of efforts to expand Pakistan's industrial base and export capacity, with port infrastructure, utilities, customs facilities and private investment integrated into the proposed apparel zone.

The government has set out an expansive Blue Economy agenda for FY2026-27, including plans to more than double Pakistan's national shipping fleet, invest heavily in maritime infrastructure, expand fisheries development and continue offshore energy exploration, even as key indicators from the outgoing fiscal year point to modest growth across the sector.

According to the Annual Plan 2026-27 made public alongside the budget, shipping, fisheries, port infrastructure and offshore energy have been identified as central pillars of the government's strategy to increase the economic contribution of Pakistan's coastal and marine resources.

The roadmap comes at a time when the maritime sector is in a transitional stage, as cargo handling has also seen support from shifting regional trade routes amid the Iran conflict, which has diverted additional shipping activity towards Pakistani ports. The development has to some extent covered up the sector's relatively small contribution to economic activity despite Pakistan's strategic location and coastline stretching more than 1,000 kilometres along the Arabian Sea.