Located in the Hub district of Balochistan close to the port city of Karachi, Gadani marble city offers huge investment opportunities to both local and foreign investors, reports WealthPK. This city has a unique position, as part of Lasbela Industrial Area, it enjoys special incentives, which the government offers to promote industrialization in the province. It is situated on the traditional route of marble supplies from Balochistan. This marble cluster – sitting 27km from SITE Karachi on the main RCD Highway – spans over 660 acres of the state land, out of which 238 acres are developed. Area-wise, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan, covering 44 percent of the total area, but its population makes up only 5.0 percent of the country's population. Its strengths lie in its wealth of natural resources, vast rangeland, 1100km coastal belt and rich deposits of minerals and hydrocarbons.

Balochistan is a land of diversity, featuring mineral-rich mountains, coastal land, uplands, plains, and deserts, along with a rich variety of flora and fauna. "The Balochistan government is laying a network of basic infrastructure of roads and developing human resources to create a more conducive environment for the investors. It has an open policy of investment offering a range of incentives, concessions, and facilities without discrimination," Zahid Rind, Director of Lasbela Industrial Estates Development Authority, told WealthPK.

He said Gadani marble city was particularly attractive for foreign and local investment, with agriculture and livestock dominating its economy. Horticultural development is a fairly recent phenomenon with great potential. The other economic sectors where the investment rate is high include fisheries, mining, manufacturing industries, trade, and other services being rendered by the public and private sector organizations in the province. He said the provincial government wanted to uplift the marble sector through the Gadani marble city, as Balochistan had vast reserves of marble, which was the most valuable mineral having a huge demand in the entire world.

"It is an architectural material used for various purposes, i.e., furniture making, flooring and cladding etc. In general, marble is metamorphic and crystalline limestone and it can be polished. It is used as an ornamental building stone used for decoration. It is a crystalline rock composed of dolomite and calcite. The marble reservoirs are available in various districts of Balochistan, including Chaghi and Dalbandin. Most of its deposits are found close to the Pak-Afghan border areas, i.e., Zeh, Chilgazai, Buttak and Zardkan. These deposits are commercially exploited for national and international markets. Marble exists in various colors. Onyx is of dark color, and is of the highest quality. It is found in Bolan, Lasbela, Chaghi and Khuzdar districts.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)