The Sindh government has decided to grant lease of at least 100 acres land to Pakistan Stones Development Company Limited (PASDEC) to set up machinery pool and develop granite model quarry in Tharparkar district, it is learnt.
Sources told Business Recorder on Friday that this was decided at a meeting recently held under the chairmanship of Secretary, Mines and Mineral Development, which was attended by the Chairman of PASDEC Ihsanullah Khan, General Manager (Finance) Lutufl Rehman, General Manager Nasir Baig, Director A Hameed Shaira, Manager Sobia Zia, regional manager Salman Tahir and Inspector of Mines, Sindh, Irshad Hussain Shaikh.
The land would be provided to the PASDEC from the available land of the Sindh government, while the PASDEC would pay all required fees of the leasing of land, sources said, adding that the company would develop model quarry from its own Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) funds.
Sources said that the land would be provided to the company after a joint survey to be conducted by the officials of PASDEC and the Mines and Mineral Department of the Sindh government. The ground activities would start within three months after the grant of mining lease, they added. Furthermore, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would be signed shortly for the future prospects of the said project, sources said.
After success of the model quarry and machinery pool, they said, the Mines and Mineral Development Department would offer other available areas to the company for establishing such model quarry of marble. The available areas are located in district Thatta and Badin. However, the provincial department would assist the PASDEC to make the project successful.
Moreover, the Sindh government would initiate the Annual Development Programs (ADP) schemes in collaboration with the PASDEC for the development of other areas on the basis of project's result in future. The meeting also discussed new schemes, provision of model quarries in Thar, Nagarparkar, Jangshahi, Thatta and Jhampir in partnership with the PASDEC with a total share of Rs 1000 million, with Rs 600 million allocation for the current fiscal year, they said.
It has been proposed that the scheme should be prepared on the basis of public-private partnership under the supervision of the PASDEC, while the Sindh government would provide 50 percent of the total cost. The company was also asked to give suggestions for the development of quarries under public-private partnership basis, its sustainability and supervision.