The Punjab government will inaugurate the country’s first state-of-the-art slaughterhouse, Lahore Meat Processing Complex (LMPC), at Shahpur Kanjran, on Sunday. The provincial government in collaboration with the Mashad Meat Industrial Complex, Iran, has invested Rs 1.5 billion on the slaughterhouse, which has been completed in a record period of eight months. Speaking to Pakistan Today, Punjab Agriculture and Meat Company (PAMCO) Senior Project Manager Dr Asif Suleman Sahi said that Lahorites would start getting fresh and hygienic meat from the next week as the LMPC had capacity to slaughter 1,000 cows and 12,000 goats daily.
Dr Asif said, “The Punjab government had invested around 80 percent of the total project cost, whereas the rest was contributed by the government of Iran. However, to curb inefficiencies, it had been decided to outsource the project operations and management to the private sector.” He added that the provincial government had plans to start similar projects in other cities of the province from the receipts of outsourcing. He added, “A consortium of renowned foreign companies has showed interest in operations and management of the project. Negotiations are underway and hopefully, the deal would be signed in a couple of weeks.”
Dr Asif said, “The LMPC would not only cater to the local demand but would also help in enhancing Halal meat exports from Punjab,” pointing out that the international Halal meat market was hovering around $ 637 billion, while Pakistan had a negligible share of below one percent in it. He said that, “PAMCO had identified Iran, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, Bahrain, Egypt, China, Thailand and Syria as major export markets for Pakistani Halal meat.”
He said that “The slaughterhouse has triggered high quality livestock farming in the province, which would have long lasting socio-economic impact on the small farmers. The project would not only promote the culture of healthy and hygienic meat supply system but also encourage the development of Halal Industrial Parks.”
The PAMCO project manager said that the project had also envisioned various allied industries, which would be established during the course of time. A blood rendering plant, compost plant, waste water treatment plant and the refrigeration, chilling, blast freezing and cold storage facilities were among the salient facilities that made the LMPC compliant with the international standards, he added.
Dr Asif said, “An online software application has been developed for tracking and tractability of meat animals. To develop a quality human resource for the Halal meat industry, the LMPC has Meat Technology Institute, which had been setup in collaboration with the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore.”
