KARACHI – A meeting of the Standing Committee of National Assembly on Textile Industry was convened under the Chairmanship of Haji Muhammad Akram Ansari at the Pakistan Textile City Head Office located in Port Qasim.
The meeting was also attended by Federal Minister for Textile Industry Rana Muhammad Farooq Saeed Khan and Pakistan Textile City Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Zaheer A Hussain. The committee was briefed on the company and the ongoing development of the project.
The Pakistan Textile City CEO, while briefing the standing committee on the meeting’s agenda, stated that the Pakistan Textile City is an unlisted public limited company incorporated in May 2004, under the Companies’ Ordinance 1984. It is driven with a vision to develop and operate world class industrial zones across Pakistan as well as dedicated to value added textile industries and the projection of Pakistan as a centre for quality textiles.
Textile City is spread over an area of 1,250 acres of land in Eastern Industrial Zone of Port Qasim and the total cost of the project is Rs 14-15 billion, excluding the cost of power plant to be built on a Build-On-Operate basis. The major industrial clusters planned in Textile City are weaving, dyeing, denim, bed linen, knit wear, towel, apparel, support industries and services will also be catered for.
In this regard, the CEO pointed out the issues hindering the project which include water supply, limited gas supply from SSGC, a sovereign guarantee for the 250 MW power plant and other infrastructure packages including the construction of a labour colony. The committee emphasised the need to convene the board of directors meeting regularly and to ensure the participation of all directors so that the pace of work on the project is adequate to the task at hand. It was also decided that letters may be written to all directors requesting them to ensure their regular participation in the BOD meetings. The committee pledged its support to the major project of national importance and urged all stakeholders to do the same. Minister for Textile Industry Rana Muhammad Farooq Saeed Khan stated that Textile City will be a benchmark industrial zone with advanced infrastructure as per the requirements of Pakistan’s value-added sector.
