KARACHI: Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd (PSMCL) will review its decision to invest $460 million if the government fails to respond to its request for incentives until April, PSMCL spokesperson Shafiq Ahmed Sheikh told Dawn on Friday.

The proposed plant will generate 319,000 direct and indirect jobs, he added.

The company has been waiting for the government’s response for one year. Mr Ahmed said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had assured PSMCL that the company would receive approval for incentives by January.

Board of Investment (BoI) Chairman Dr Miftah Ismail had assured PSMCL of the same in a recent visit to its plant.

As per the request of Mr Dar, the company submitted specifications, schedule and other details to the BoI on January 1.

He said PSMCL’s principal in Japan has been waiting anxiously for approval of requested incentives to start work on the new plant.

The project is already delayed, he said, noting that the company’s financial year started from January 1.

Total promised investment is around $660m in which foreign direct investment from Japan is $250m. PSMCL is going to arrange $210m through its own funds and bank borrowings while vendors will invest $200m.

He said the company has purchased land for the plant. “This is a one-time investment. The plant’s completion will be in 18-24 months.”

However, Mr Ahmed said it is premature to comment about upcoming model details and specifications.

Senate’s Standing Committee on Industries and Production Chairman Hidayat Ullah and Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Zubair Tufail informed the government last month that they were in favour of granting incentives to PSMCL for two years on new models at the greenfield plant.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2017