A strategy to streamline the sector had been put in place more than a few years back on the basis of detailed research work carried out by the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority.
But at the same remained unimplemented due mainly to bureaucratic apathy and for being no-where on the military government’s priorities’ list.
The newly formulated marble and granite sector development plan will be a USAid funded project, titled ‘Pakistan Initiative for Strategic Development and Competitiveness’, which aims at increasing the competitiveness of Pakistan’s small and medium enterprises.
The strategy envisages raising foreign exchange earnings through exports of marble and granite sector to $2.44 billion by 2015 from the current level of $23 million recorded in 2004-05.
If it happens, it will raise the marble and granite sector’s share under the country’s total exports to 4.18 per cent in a span of nine years from 0.16 per cent in 2004.
Businessmen consider the targets to be achievable subject to continued support from the federal government, consistency in the policies and implementation of the strategy in the letter and spirit.
The optimism is largely based on the massive potential in terms of huge reserves of marble and granite.
In the North West Frontier Province, Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the reported combined marble reserves are of more than 160 million tons, whereas, the granite’s reserves runs into several billion tons.
Gilgit, headquarters of the country’s Northern Areas, has Hanzal White granite – one of the best and most sought after quality granite. The known reserves of Hanzal white have been estimated at 4.14 billion tons.
Unfortunately, the country’s vast potential remmained unexploited with policy makers always focusing on the textile industry or on sectors with heavy reliance on imported raw material or devising strategies to patronise industrialists through SROs and incentive packages announced from time to time.
Despite lack of legitimate official facilities, marble sector is among the fastest growing in the Frontier province where, according to business circles, the number of private firms extracting marble has risen from 100 to 170 over a period of one-and-a-half years.
The growing business has much to do with house decoration trends which have undergone significant change in the past few years. The use of marble tiles in floors, kitchen, bathrooms and walls has become a fashion.
Though this development has given boost to economic activities, it has created a couple of thousands of low-salary jobs and led to mushroom growth of sale outlets, the unorganized sector’s growth has not been an unmixed blessing.
The boom has not benefited the public exchequer significantly except for a few large firms stated to be tax payers. In the unorganized sector, according to business circles, the precious resource of the province is getting damaged as a result of orthodox mining practices.
With a large resource base of marble and granite, the country does not have a single trained master quarry for which only the government is responsible.
It was the government’s duty to facilitate the private sector in an effort to protect the naturally bestowed resources from getting badly exploited.
According to official estimates, the country loses 73 to 80 per cent of the marble extracted every year. The loss is attributed to orthodox mining practices. Unwieldy blasting techniques and unplanned excavations have not only resulted in this high rate of wastage but also in the loss of valuable resources which is considered equally harmful for the environment as it disturbs the ecosystem.
However, in line with the newly formed strategy the government has recently set up a company, Pakistan Stone Development Company (PSDC), which would spearhead the initiative to organize marble sector on modern lines.
It will provide infrastructure base to the marble units, assist the businessmen in value addition and market their products abroad in addition to developing human resource to ensure proper utilization of the potential and bring down the losses.
PSDC, a public-private venture set up with an authorized capital of Rs300 million to be provided by Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), has started operations and will shortly invite applications, from the private sector, for the setting up of ten model quarries in the marble rich parts of the country.
PIDC has already released Rs66 million to the newly formed company, registered under section 42 of the Companies Ordinance, 1984.
The proposed ten model quarries are meant to exhibit modern extraction techniques, impart training to produce skilled workforce and quarry masters in addition to advising the mine owners as to how should they maintain and manage their marble mines.
Out of the ten model quarries being established as joint venture with the private sector, three each would be set up in Balochistan and NWFP, two in Sindh and one each in Northern Areas and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
Ehsanullah Khan, a local businessman who is the chairman of the 12- member board of directors of PSDC, told Dawn that the company would select 10 mines for their conversion into model quarries within six months following which funds would be arranged to establish the model quarries, which, according to him, should be ready for display in May next year.
The establishment of model quarries, he added, would facilitate the private sector to maintain their mines on the same pattern. The application of modern extraction technologies would help bring down radically sector’s losses from the current high of 73 per cent.
He claimed that several Peshawar-based industrialists had shown interest for stepping into the business after the federal minister for industries Jehangir Tareen, during a recent meeting with representatives of the NWFP business community, apprised them of the measures the federal government had undertaken for the marble and granite sector development. The plan was approved by President General Pervez Musharraf on June 23, last.
As directed by President Mushrraf, the federal government would provide Rs1.98 billion, a soft loan of Rs2 billion would also be arranged for PSDC to execute the development plan. The proposals also include setting up of five special zones – to be called as marble cities – in the marble rich areas of the country, warehouses, machinery pools and training centres.
The plan aims at producing 200,000 skilled workforce and 2000 trained quarry masters by 2015 to help the private sector overcome shortage of trained labour. Today, the country does not have a single trained quarry master in the country.
According to Mr Khan, the federal government was in touch with the NWFP government for providing a piece of 180 acres land, owned by the Sarhad Development Authority, in Nowshera district for the establishment of first of the five marble cities where infrastructure would be developed by PSDC. The plots for warehouses and marble units would be sold to the interested parties.
The management of the special marble zones, he added, would be taken care by the private sector with assistance from PSDC, which would carry out its activities on no-profit/no-loss basis for the first three years.
Similarly, the NWFP governor Lt Gen (rtd) Ali Mohammed Jan Orakzai, who is the administrative head of FATA, has also shown keen interest in facilitating PSDC to carry out its plan in the tribal area to boost economic activities.
In August, the governor announced that land in Mohmand agency will be allotted for the establishment of an additional model marble quarry. This would bring the total number of model quarries being established in FATA to two.
Besides, the governor has also assured to provide finances required for the construction of roads and other infrastructure facilities in the marble rich parts of the tribal territory.