Synergy: Joint venture company to manage apparel park

Public-private collaboration allows the Chinese company to start work immediately.

LAHORE:

The provincial government is likely to set up a new company to oversee the establishment of Quaid-i-Azam Apparel Park in Sheikhupura, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The company would be modelled after Punjab Industrial Development and Management Company (PIDMC) and registered under the Companies Act, said an official of the Industries Department who requested anonymity.

Through the company, the government of the Punjab and China’s Shandong Ruyi Group (SRG) would engage in a joint venture to establish the park under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Act 2014, the official said.

The Punjab government had earlier wanted to sign an agreement with the SRG for investing 51 per cent of the project cost but that presented some legal hurdles including conflict of interest as the Chinese company is also developing a master plan for the park, the official said.

The Punjab government has announced plans to set up the 1,562-acre park near the Sheikhupura motorway interchange. It has acquired land for the project at a cost of Rs3.3 billion, constituting about 49 per cent of the total investment for the project. The SRG has undertaken to put up the remaining 51 per cent investment for infrastructure development and provision of services.

The official said that the government and the Chinese company would implement the project by forming a new company or assuming joint ownership of an existing one through the purchase of shares. A board of directors would supervise the joint enterprise.

Through the joint venture, the SRG can start work without delay, unlike other option such as filing an unsolicited bid where the approval would have taken many months. The Chinese company had already joined hands with Masood Textile in the 4,415-acre Faisalabad M3 Industrial Estate, which the chief minister inaugurated on Wednesday.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2014.