LAHORE, July 22 (ABC): The Punjab government will invest Rs60 billion under the three-year Punjab Economic Transformation Plan to establish four agro-processing park clusters in Sargodha, Okara, Khanewal and Bhakkar.
According to official documents available with Wealth Pakistan, the four clusters will provide shared cold chain facilities, certification services and business infrastructure. The initiative will enable more than 500 firms to invest and create around 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Each agro-processing park will span 250 acres and receive a government investment of Rs15 billion.
Parks to support value-added processing
The parks will be developed near major crop-producing regions. These include citrus-growing Sargodha, potato-producing Okara and mango-growing areas of southern Punjab, particularly around Multan.
The facilities will include sorting and grading units, laboratories, certification services, cold storage, logistics infrastructure, capacity-building centres and business support services.
To encourage private sector participation, the government will offer several manufacturing incentives. These include reimbursement of duties on imported plant, machinery and equipment through a dedicated Rs50 billion fund.
Complete value chains planned
The parks will support the complete processing chain for citrus and mangoes. This will cover farm-gate collection, sorting, grading, packing, polishing and waxing. The facilities will also produce pulp, puree and jams.
Potato processing facilities will cover the entire value chain. They will handle farm-gate procurement, grading, cold storage and the production of dehydrated potato flakes, frozen fries and potato chips.
Investment and export targets
Government estimates show the initiative will attract more than Rs20 billion in private investment. More than 500 firms are expected to benefit from the incentives offered under the programme.
The agro-processing parks are expected to facilitate exports of 40,000 tonnes of value-added citrus and mango products. They will also support exports of 50,000 tonnes of value-added potato products.
The initiative will establish 20 value-addition units. It is expected to generate an additional $200 million in export earnings and increase raw agricultural exports by 5%.
