This decision was taken during a meeting held by PIEDMC at the Civil Secretariat on Friday in which the colonization of industrial estates was discussed. It was chaired by Provincial Minister for Punjab Industries and Trade Ministry Mian Aslam Iqbal. Punjab Industries Secretary Wasif Khurshid, PIEDMC Chairman Syed Nabeel Hashmi, CEO Javed Ilyas, board member Arif Qasim and others were amongst the attendees.
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The Minister directed the concerned officers to devise and submit a feasible model for the expansion of SIE in the next meeting. Mian Aslam expressed contentment over the progress in Quaid e Azam Business Park, in Sheikhupura. He stated that the construction of interchange, labor colony, business center and provision of necessary infrastructure should be completed within the timeline as it would expedite the colonization of industrial estates.
The industrialization process has accelerated due to the investor friendly policies introduced by PTI and the measures it had taken to improve its ease of doing business score, the Minister said. The establishment of new industries in industrial estates with the support of the government policies has also managed to create employment opportunities for the masses, he added.
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It announced in the meeting that 71 new industrial units have been set up in the Sunder Industrial Estate in the past one year and PIEDMC Chairman Nabeel Hashmi also informed of a paid internship program being started.
Sundar Industrial Estate- PIEDMC’s Flagship Venture
Envisioned to be an ‘Island for Facilitation’, this industrial estate spread over 1750 acres of land was inaugurated in 2007 and is home to around 531 industries. Recently, the management of SIE has initiated the pilot project of smart metering in 10 industries for now. Once it proves to be successful, it will be extended to all 531 industries of the state. The process of procuring digital meters would soon be started by SIE’s management in accordance with the PPRA rules.
SIE is a brainchild of PIEDMC which is an autonomous, not-profit entity owned by the Government of Punjab, but run by a Board of Directors (BOD) comprising of private sector industrialists and ex-officio members. This industrial estate basically targets small and medium entrepreneurs and thus the majority of the plot sizes fall between ½ to 2 acres. However, it also offers bigger plots to accommodate large industrial estates. SIE houses over 400 factories in production and is proudly contributing to the economy by generating employment for over 70 to 80 thousand workmen.
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These 400 factories diversely belong to the industries of auto parts, textiles, pharmaceuticals, garments, food products, steel fabrication and many more. The economic zone is strategically located along the Rohi Nala Bypass, which is an offshoot of Raiwand Road in Lahore. With a fully functioning administrative and site office, water distribution network with underground and overhead reservoirs, pumping station and generator house, along with a properly operational underground sewerage network, Sundar Industrial Estate is close to completion of all its promised utilities.
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Though Sundar Industrial Estate, established by PIEDMC through public-private partnership (PPP) from 2004 onwards is not classified as a “Special Economic Zone (SEZ) but it has been developed in such a way that it meets most standards currently set for an SEZ. The overarching goal behind these industrial estates in Pakistan is to promote increased production, trade, increased investment, job creation, and effective administration. Businesses are encouraged to set up in the zone through incentivized financial policies. These policies typically cover investing, taxation, trading, quotas, customs, and labor regulations.