Raza Khan

The Ministry of Commerce has proposed to establish an Integrated Textile and Garment Park (ITGP) in Karachi to facilitate small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). “The main objective of the project is to provide infrastructure facilities to SMEs in textile and garment sector for setting up their units,” according to a report of the Ministry of Commerce.

The ITGP would also facilitate and train SMEs in meeting production and social standards of international business environment, the report said.The total cost of project is estimated at Rs1.842 billion, and it would be completed in three years.“The project will create thousands of jobs in the textile and garment sector,” the ministry said.

In its budgetary proposal, the Ministry of Commerce initially demanded Rs377.6 million under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the next fiscal year (2023-24) to start work on the project.“The project will provide ready-made factory space as well as in-house training centre, testing laboratory, conference and exhibition halls, buyers’ offices and other facilities according to international standards,” said the report.

The Ministry of Commerce is optimistic that the ITGP would attract foreign investors besides local manufacturers, particularly SMEs, to invest in the textile and garment sector of Pakistan. “The project will help in boosting exports of value-added products,” the report said.

The project would be carried out under the public-private partnership (PPP) model to establish a modern physical and institutional infrastructure. The investors would be offered factory space on hiring model. “Investors will be able to hire the space for factory instead of being forced to invest their capital in buying land,” said the report.

The ITGP would provide all the facilities to investors on prevalent market rate, and complete facilities for conversion of fabric and accessories into garment. “The ITGP will comprise a cluster of stitching units with complete ancillary support and services,” the report mentioned.

The Ministry of Commerce said it would also engage a panel of professional agencies for innovation, project identification and execution in the ITGP.“Training of workers, engineers, and supervisors will be ensured to boost productivity,” the ministry said.According to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), textile exports are the major portion of the country’s overall exports, and the textile sector hosts over 50% of the industrial workforce.

According to the Board of Investment, Pakistan is the eighth largest exporter of textile products in Asia. The textile sector comprises 46% of the total manufacturing sector. Textile exports of $19.31 billion in the fiscal year 2021-22 accounted for 60.92% of the country’s total exports of $31.76 billion. According to Textiles and Apparel Policy 2020-25, the textile exports target for the current fiscal year has been set at $25 billion.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk