ISLAMABAD – Islamabad and Beijing have joined hands to grow agriculture, power, and logistics sectors in Gwadar and the country’s largest city Karachi.
A Chinese firm has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to make an initial investment of $50 million in the industrial zone of Gwadar for setting up an end-to-end supply chain facility for the export of seafood to China.
A report of the Pakistani state-run news agency said Optima Integration Group of China and Asia Pak Investments of Pakistan have signed an agreement to invest $50 million in the first phase.
The MoU, facilitated by the Board of Investment, would reportedly create more than 100 jobs in the southwestern region and Karachi, besides the establishment of a high-tech processing facility along with technology transfer.
The General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China has approved 79 species of fish for import from South Asian country. Officials also planned to expand the project from fish to beef and goat in the second phase, starting off with exporting beef with cold chain transport.
The report suggests that the project will power both firms to export in large volumes and empower them to command a premium price.
Sam Siu, Chairman of Optima Integration Group of China, and Eusha Saleem Bajwa, Chief Executive Officer of Sino Pak Optima Technologies, signed the MoU on behalf of their respective sides.
Federal Minister and Chairman of Board of Investment, Chaudhry Salik Hussain chaired the signing ceremony together with BOI Secretary BOI, Fareena Mazhar.