We've limited capacity when it comes to setting up an industrial estate - Chairman PIEDMC

Punjab Industrial Estates Development and Management Company (PIEDMC) is an important initiative of the Government of Punjab with an objective of Public-Private partnership to achieve orderly, planned and balanced industrialisation in the province. S. M. Tanveer has been appointed as the Chairman of PIEDMC on October 01, 2009.
S. M. Tanveer also looks after the activities of Din Group. He is director of Din Group of Industries comprising Din Textile Mills Limited, Din Leather Limited and Din Power Limited. Founded in 1987, Din Textile Mills Ltd. made its mark within a very short span of time. The annual exports of the group are approximately $45 Million. The Group is also dealing in raw skins, chemicals and power generation.
BR Research: What are the key features of Punjab Industrial Estate (PIE)?
S.M.Tanveer: In 2003, Government of Punjab announced its industrial policy. Punjab Industrial Estates Development and Management Company (PIEDMC) was established in pursuance of this industrial vision. The company is owned by the Government of Punjab and is run by a Board of Directors (BOD) comprising of 16 directors. Majority of them are private sector industrialists and the rest are ex-officio members, demonstrating PIEDMC as a successful example of Public-Private Partnership. Its key objective is to provide quality infrastructure, ensure efficient, cost effective and sustainable management of industrial estates, and to endorse "One Window Operation" by providing utilities and services at industrial estates.
Its completed projects include Multan Industrial Estate, Quaid e Azam Industrial Estate and Sundar Industrial Estate. Phase 1 of Rahim Yar Khan Industrial Estate and Bhalwal Industrial Estate have been completed and await inauguration by the Chief Minister; their second phase will be completed next year in 2015, while projects in hand include Vehari Industrial Estate, Chunian Industrial Estate, and Quaid e Azam Apparel Park. We also have some projects that are in the planning stages like Rawalpindi Industrial Estate, Bahawalpur Industrial Estate, Gujrat Industrial Estate, and PD Khan Industrial Estate.
BRR: Update us on the progress made by Punjab Industrial Estate? What has your role been in furthering its objectives?
SMT: PIEDMC in the last five to six year period has witnessed unprecedented growth; From two incomplete industrial estates ie Sundar and Multan, we have come as far as taking on the challenge of starting seven new mega projects in addition to those that were incomplete. And the credit goes to Chief Minister Punjab, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif for his efforts in synthesising the team in the right direction.
When I joined as the Chairman, we did not have the capital to finance the development and industrialisation work. It has been quite a struggle, but we achieved many landmarks of excellence in recent times, the credit for which goes to the joint efforts of the Chief Minister, the industrialists investing in our Industrial Estates and tireless efforts of the PIE management.
My aim as the Chairman has been to provide maximum support to genuine industrialists, and urge those who are lagging behind to contribute. The recent Colonisation Drive has been a step in the same direction. Before we initiated the Colonisation Drive, we decided to set up a committee to sell various plots in Multan Industrial Estate (MIE) at discounted rates. So basically, MIE acted as the catalyst in our journey. The exit strategy our drive offered the plot holders was simple: they could set up a plant within two years, and sell the plant thereafter if they wished to. However, in cases where the ex-plot holders did not sell the plant, there were to face a non-utilization fee.
One industrial estate on average takes around Rs8-9 billion; this drive was successful in generating Rs2.5-3 billion income for us, which helped us in initiating the completion of ongoing projects and take on new ones simultaneously. Over the years, we have tried our best to bring transparency, accountability, better financial management, improved corporate practices, and the colonisation drives have been the key in enhancing industrialisation.
BRR: Tell us about PIEDMC's financial health.
SMT: The industrial estate had a debt burden of Rs1 billion in 2009 when I joined along with half completed MIE and SIE. However, over the years we have progressed, developed and have become financially sustainable. The situation in 2010 was not very encouraging; colonisation in SIE was only at four percent, and the HR and marketing departments were non-existent.
Our revenues have growth exponentially since FY10; today they are somewhere close to Rs3 billion. Our cash position has also improved significantly, and this can be seen from the fact that all our projects are self-financed except Quaid e Azam Solar Park (QASP), which is financed by the Punjab Government.
BRR: What are some of the key in-houses initiatives and changes in policies that were adopted to bring about the spur of growth you have just talked about?
SMT: Corporate governance is a key success factor for an organisation. We reconstituted the Board of Directors in March 2010, where we changed the number of board member from 23 to 16. Since then our board meetings have been regular, and we also appointed a new CEO.
We completed some pending statutory compliances and shifted our head office to Sundar Industrial Estate Lahore. We also went for capacity building and took some austerity measures like downsizing, termination of unnecessary consultancies, and disposal of surplus assets to cut costs and improve efficiency.
BRR: What are the key challenges that you face today?
SMT: We face capacity building issues as it requires resources and time; we have limited capacity when it comes to setting up an industrial estate, so we usually co-ordinate with the chambers to see where the demand is before starting with the feasibility studies. Resource generation is another vital aspect which is crucial to our sustainability. Also, a major task that requires our time is management of government funded projects like Quaid e Azam Solar Park (QASP).
We are also working on providing continuous sources of electricity and gas to the industrial estates, and efforts in this regard are under development. After the fall in oil prices, furnace oil based power plants have become viable for the industry compared to the ones running on diesel. This offers an opportunity to the industries to set up these power plants for an uninterrupted power supply.