KARACHI, Feb 26: About 400-450 businessmen, including some 50- 70 Italians, are expected to attend a conference on "Italian marble and granite machinery and technology in Pakistan" scheduled to be held in Karachi on March 15 and 16.

The conference is billed as a "match-making" exercise with one-to-one meeting between locals and Italians aimed at promoting joint ventures and training of local personnel to realize the vast potential of marble industry and exports.

The focus would be on cutting down a high rate of wastage and improving quality with value-addition by induction of modern machinery and technology. For this, the Italian trade commission in Karachi carried out a detailed status report on the local marble industry in 2002.

"It was the right time to launch this major effort," Italian Consul-General Dr Bruno Pasquino, Balochistan Forum Chairman Sardar Shaukat Popalzai and Trade Commissioner Emilio De Matteis told a new conference here on Thursday.

The organizers of the conference are Italian Association of Producers of Marble and Ornamental Stone Machinery and Equipments and the International Marble Institute of Stone Culture. The Balochistan Forum is providing logistic support.

Mr Shaukat explained that marble enterprises had grown in size and were now capable of entering joint ventures with foreigners. Italians are interested in mining and processing of marble and granite and manufacture of various marble products for the domestic as well as foreign markets.

Dr Bruno said machinery and technology could also be delivered under commercial contracts providing for buy back arrangements of processed or manufactured items. But it was for the contracting parties to decide.

Italian machinery for marble/granite/onyx into Pakistan accounted between 16-20 per cent of total imports with some market perception that their prices were not competitive.

Italian Trade Commissioner, however, said that Italy has been the largest importer of granite and sandstone over the past five years and has accounted for 39.4pc of the total imports with a value of $415 million.

This opens up opportunities for joint ventures specially when standard quarry wastage in the world is taken at 50pc of the gross produce and Pakistan quarry loss is estimated between 61-73 per cent.

In Pakistan, very few units are equipped with highly sophisticated machinery and most of them rely on locally manufactured equipment, resulting in processing wastage of 45-55pc.