LAHORE: A Chinese company, Shanghai Challenge Textile, plans to invest up to $500 million on the development of a private Special Economic Zone (SEZ) spread on an area of 400 acres near Kasur for establishing an exclusive apparel park for garments and allied industries.

The investors expect the project to complete and start production for the export markets in the next two years. The entire garment production from the apparel park will be meant for export markets and is estimated to bring in foreign exchange revenue of $300m to $500m a year.

The park will be developed by the China Railway 20 Co. Pakistan as its ECP contractor with the Pak-China Investment Company providing financing for the project. The Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT), the provincial investment promotion agency, will act as the facilitating agency.

Shanghai Challenge Apparel already has a facility in Lahore and had a few years back bought almost 25 per cent shareholding in the Faisalabad-based Masood Textile Mills.

Amount will be used to establish apparel park; entire production is meant for export

“The investor company has already started acquiring land for developing the park. Once it completes land acquisition, it will begin the process for SEZ status,” PBIT chief executive officer (CEO) Jahanzeb Burana told Dawn. He said the entire project from acquisition of land to establishment of factories was a “private venture by the Chinese company” and the government was not involved in it in any way. “We at the PBIT will only be facilitating it,” he said, adding the park will have its own power station.

The Chinese investors also signed a four-party Cooperation Framework Agreement in this regard at the PBIT with the Punjab government on Thursday. The agreement was signed by senior executives of China Railway 20 Co. Pakistan, Shanghai Yuanyi Industry Company, Pak-China Investment Company and PBIT.

Provincial industries, commerce and investment minister Aslam Iqbal and China’s Consulate General in Lahore Long Dingbin witnessed the ceremony.

The investment plan will formally be announced during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s next visit to Beijing towards the end of this month, Mr Burana said.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2019