Govt eyes over 138,000 jobs from Port Qasim garment city project

Mettis Global reported that the government plans a 400-acre apparel zone at Port Qasim, where early projections point to more than 138,000 jobs and annual exports of close to $2.2bn during the first phase. Maritime Affairs Minister Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry led a meeting on the scheme, which he described as an export-focused cluster aimed at premium garment manufacturing and private investment. The press release that accompanied the meeting framed the zone as a route to deeper private participation.

Phase one covers 250 acres, with 35 per cent set aside for internal roads, utilities and green spaces. The layout includes 32 industrial plots of five acres each, which could shrink to between two and three acres so more manufacturers can join. The Port Qasim Authority would handle infrastructure, and each unit could draw up to 400,000 gallons of water a day along with 2MW of grid power.

Artistic Milliners, a textile and denim manufacturer, plans a unit with investment above $18mn that will combine vertical integration with green technologies. Exporters would deal with a single window, backed by faster export processing, dedicated customs counters and transport corridors. The government also hopes to raise average garment export value to about $8 per piece.