KARACHI, Aug 7: The Port Qasim Authority (PQA) will provide 700 acres to Pakistan Textile City Ltd at a rate of Rs1 million per acre.

This decision has been taken at 62nd meeting of PQA board of directors headed by Chairman Port Qasim Authority Vice Admiral Taj Muhammad Khattak on Saturday.

It may be noted that a high level meeting chaired by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz has instructed PQA to speed up the process of handing allotted land over to textile city in the industrial area of Port Qasim.

The Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan, Federal Communication Minister Babar Khan Ghori, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Liaquat Ali Jatoi, chairman PQA and senior government officials attended the meeting.

The Textile City Ltd will undertake development of infrastructure and other services and provide this land to prospective industrialist who wished to set up textile units in the area.

Textile city will be run by a joint stock company which is in place with a paid-up capital of Rs1 billion. Ministry of Finance will contribute Rs500 million as seed money while corporate sector will raise the rest of the amount.

PQA Board, in its earlier meeting had already approved allotment of 1,250 acres land in its eastern industrial zone for setting up the mega project of textile city on the request of the ministry of industries and production.

In the first phase, PQA will hand over 700 acres of land and keeping in view the pace of development work and activity, the possession of remaining land will be given later on.

The project will not attract investment in a big way but also provide employment opportunities in the country besides boosting exports and revenues for national exchequer.

The board meeting was attended by its members president FPCCI Riaz Ahmed Tata, additional secretary, Ministry of Communications K.B. Rind, Arshad Jamil Khokhar, Sultan Ahmed, secretary Board, PQA Afsar Din Talpur.-APP