FAISALABAD, Aug 3: A 3,365-acre textile city along the Motorway (M-3) will become operational by March 31, 2005. This was stated by Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) chairman Mian Muhammad Latif (FIEDMC) while presiding over the first formal meeting of company's Boards of Directors here on Tuesday.

Mian Latif said: "This mega project will not only play a major role in strengthening the national economy but also help the exiting industrial units face the challenges of the New World Trade Order.

"The FIEDMC also intends to establish small industrial estates or clusters in others parts of the city to provide job opportunities to workers at their doorstep." Chief Executive Officer Khurram Iftikhar said that the Punjab government had released Rs3.5 million as equity to meet the initial expenditure for the textile city.

He said that the government had sanctioned a loan worth Rs1.5 billion at a nominal markup of 0.25 per cent. He said that a helipad and an airstrip would also be provided in the city to enable foreign buyers directly land there.

"We will also arrange a small Cessna for airlifting our guests from the airport to this city." He said that the textile city alone would provide jobs to more than a million workers.

The BoD also allowed establishment of a secretariat for the FIEDMC and the chairman/CEO office. Four committees were constituted to hire essential staff under the direct supervision of Mian Latif and Mr Iftikhar.

The chairman of All-Pakistan Cloth Exporters Association, provincial secretaries and representatives of finance, labour, industries and environment departments also attended the meeting. -APP