The Punjab Industrial Estates (PIE) Development and Management Company has estimated that development of Multan Industrial Estates Phase-II will provide 40,000 direct and 400,000 indirect jobs. "We have acquired services of a consultant to finalise the design of this project, while 667 acres of land have also been handed over to the Multan Industrial Board to start the development work", said PIE Chairman Mohsin Syed, while addressing a press conference here on Monday.
Multan Industrial Board (MIB) President Meer Tahir Zaidi briefed the media men regarding reconstruction process of the Multan Industrial Estate Phase-I and plans for the Phase-II.
Mohsin Syed said that they would call a meeting of 150 industrialists of Multan in the last week of July to finalise programme about the development of Phase-II, adding that they were expecting Rs 8 billion investment in the Phase-II.
He also said that PIE would not take money from the government to develop this phase rather loans would be taken from the banks. "We would take 30 percent from banks and 70 percent would be provided by the investors", he said, adding: "Extensive negotiations are going on with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to set up an effluent treatment plant."
Replying to a query, he said that they have already acquired services of a consultant for this work, and hoped that within 18 to 24 months they would start work on the project of treatment of effluent being discharged from industries.
Meer Tahir Zaidi told the newsmen that after the development work being carried out by the Multan Industrial Board under PIE, some 36 new units had come in the Multan Industrial Estate.
He said that now the private sector was showing interest in this estate because their works such as property transfer, approval of building plan and others was being done in days instead of past practice of long delays.