South Punjab Forest Company (SPFC) has signed agreement with 43 bidders under its commercial forestry project under Public Private Partnership (PPP) and is expected to handover the land to these projects during the next month so as they can take benefit of monsoon plantation.
The company received 348 bids for investment over 99,077 acres of land in six districts of Punjab and after due diligence received bids on 124 projects for land spreading over 61, 749 acres.
The KPK government spend Rs 11 billion on its One billion Tsunami project while the Punjab government will spend not a single penny on farm forestry under PPP mode on this wasteland rather it will receive Rs 20 billion in shape of its share in a span of five years.
This was disclosed by the SPFC CEO Tahir Rasheed while briefing the environmental journalists about latest developments regarding the afforestation projects in South Punjab here on Thursday.
Tahir said that the average produce sharing ratio received was 36 percent during the bidding which was double than what the company set i.e. 15 percent.
He went on to say that the project received the final approval from the cabinet of the Government of the Punjab, after which the concession agreements have been signed with the investors.
"A total of 43 concession agreements have been signed with the investors so far and now we await for our administrative department (Punjab Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries Department) to direct its field formations to initiate the process of handing over of forestland to concessionaires, who have met the requirements."
Tahir also added that the model of commercial forestry can be replicated in urban centres to achieve the goal of resilient cities, which can help to address smog, heatwave and urban flooding.
He said that the commercial forestry is a new concept around the world but it lessens the burden on natural forests.
He said around 870 million hectares is under commercial forestry world over with the investment calculated at 480 billion US dollars.
He said this type of forestry sector is growing at the rate of 20 percent per annum for the last 20 years.
Tahir Rasheed further informed regarding the socio-economic and environmental benefits of SPFC's initiative, including but not limited to the afforestation of 40 million trees, carbon sequestration of 35 million tons, 15,000 green jobs, 25% of SPFC's share to comprise indigenous tree species which will be conserved during the project duration, circulation of Rs 240 billion in the economy and the government to earn Rs 20 billion through the project. Mitigation of climate change through massive carbon sequestration will improve the micro-climate of Punjab and also assist the Government of Pakistan in achieving its commitments laid out under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Agenda 2030 among others.
To a question he said that no invasive species of trees would be allowed under this plantation and local varieties would be encouraged.
He disclosed that most of the investors were aiming to plant Moringa, which is considered full of nutrients. He said that this project would also create 15,000 direct and indirect jobs for the local community.
SPFC has ensured transparency, as when the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) conducted its audit in December 2017, from inception till June 30, 2017, no audit paras were pending in the audit report. The auditors found all procurement according to Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Rules 2014 and all financial matters according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
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