The Board of Directors of Punjab Industrial Estates Development and Management Company (PIEDMC) has approved annual budget of Rs 1952 million for the financial year 2012-13 including Rs 1740 million for the development work in five industrial estates in the province.
After presiding over the meeting, the PIEDMC Chairman S. M. Tanveer briefing newsmen said that the development work would be completed in due time. The company is utilising its own resources and no grant or aid would be demanded from the government or any other agency for the purpose.
PIE has attained financial sustainability, as it did not receive a single penny from the government for the last four years, he said. He said that Rs 450 million has been allocated for the Rahim Yar Khan industrial estate, which would be completed in two phases. Sundar Industrial Estate would get Rs 338 million while Rs 171 million and Rs 398 million have been made available for Bhalwal Industrial Estate and Multan Industrial Estate, respectively.
Tanveer also said that PIE was working on expansion of Sundar Industrial Estate and developing 50 acres of land to accommodate health hazard industries. The decision was taken after the suo motu notice taken by the Lahore High Court on Kharak, (Lahore) incident, he added.
"We are also going to set up pharma lab of international standard at the Sundar Industrial Estate, which would benefit those who get their samples tested from Sri Lanka," he added. He further said PIE is in process of striking a deal with Coca Cola, which intends to set up its plant on an area of 30 acres in Multan Industrial Estate.
The Punjab Power Development Company is also constructing a 50 mega watt power generation unit at the Sundar Industrial Estate and the Punjab government formally approved this coal-based power project in a meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif. The per unit cost from coal based electricity is expected to remain Rs 9-10 per unit while line losses at the Sundar Industrial Estate are not more than 1.5 percent, he maintained.
Because of setting up of new industrial estates at Bhalwal, Rahim Yar Khan and Multan, about 1.5 million jobs would be created directly and more than 1000 industrial units would be established within next two years, which would increase GDP and eliminate poverty, particularly from South Punjab, the Chairman PIEDMC said. Tanveer said that the construction work and process of allotment of plots for setting up new industrial estates has already been started at Bhalwal, Rahim Yar Khan and Multan Phase II.