Integrated Textile and Garment Park proposed at Karachi

The Ministry of Commerce in a report has proposed to establish an Integrated Textile and Garment Park (ITGP) in Karachi to facilitate small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The main objective of the project is stated to be to offer infrastructure facilities to SMEs in the textile and garment sector for setting up their units.

The ITGP would also facilitate and train SMEs in meeting production and social standards of the international business environment, the report said. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs1.842 billion, and it would be completed in three years. The ministry is hopeful that the project will create thousands of jobs in the textile and garment sector.

The Ministry of Commerce in its budgetary proposal demanded Rs377.6 million under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the next fiscal year (2023-24) to start work on the project. The project will provide ready-made factory space as well as an in-house training center, testing laboratory, conference and exhibition halls, buyers’ offices, and other facilities according to international standards.

The Ministry of Commerce is optimistic that the ITGP would attract foreign investors besides local manufacturers, particularly SMEs, to invest in the textile and garment sector of Pakistan.

The project will help in boosting exports of value-added products, the report added.



The report further states that the project would be carried out under the public-private partnership (PPP) model to establish a modern physical and institutional infrastructure. The investors would be offered factory space on hiring models. Investors will be able to rent the space for factories instead of being forced to invest their capital in buying land.

The ITGP will comprise a cluster of stitching units with complete ancillary support and services, the report further elaborated. The Ministry of Commerce said it would also engage a panel of professional agencies for innovation, project identification, and execution in the ITGP. Training of workers, engineers, and supervisors will be ensured to boost productivity, according to the ministry.

According to the Board of Investment, Pakistan is the eighth largest exporter of textile products in Asia.

The textile sector comprises 46 percent of the total manufacturing sector. Textile exports of $19.31 billion in the fiscal year 2021-22 accounted for 60.92 percent of the country’s total exports of $31.76 billion. Textiles and Apparel Policy 2020-25, has fixed textile exports target for the current fiscal year at billion.