ISLAMABAD, March 23: Zhengbang Agriculture Pakistan Private Limited (ZHENGBANG) has planned to invest Rs. 700 million to establish an agrichemical plant in the Allama Iqbal Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Faisalabad, Zhang Shilu, General Manager of ZHENGBANG told Gwadar Pro. Due to the focus on the agriculture sector under the second phase of CPEC, the friendly business environment and huge market potential in Pakistan, Zhangbang began to prepare for the agrichemical plant project in October 2020, which was approved by the Board of Investment of Pakistan in March 2021.

With an area of 10.93 acres, the plant will be put into operation in June 2022. Once established, the plant will manufacture 100 agrichemical solutions to major crops - wheat, rice, cotton, maize, sugarcane, mango and vegetables - including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, plant growth regulators, water-soluble fertilizers, emulsifiable concentrate, suspension concentrate, powder, water dispersible granule etc. Notably, a fertilizer production base will be set up in the plant, specializing in functional water-soluble fertilizers such as amino acids, humic acids, NPK, zinc fertilizers. “The fertilizers will help alleviate chronic problems of hardening and saline-alkali soils in Pakistan”, said Mr Zhang. To achieve long-term operations of the plant, ZHENGBANG will also establish a R&D team in collaboration with Pakistani agricultural institutes and universities and recruit Pakistani talents with a PhD in China to provide customised crop solutions to better combat diseases, pests and weeds in Pakistan.

The plant is also expected to create more than 500 job opportunities for local people and contribute an annual tax of Rs. 50 million to the local government. Starting its business in Lahore since January 2020, ZHENGBANG has been dedicated to importing and selling pesticides and fertilizers in Punjab, Pakistan. ZHENGBANG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zhengbang Crop Protection Co., Ltd, a leading crop protection body of China’s agrichemical giant Zhangbang Group. With its economic and research prowess, Zhangbang Group has set up 20 overseas companies along the Belt and Road countries including Pakistan.  

Credits: INP-WealthPk