ISLAMABAD: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is playing a crucial role in taking the Pakistan’s textile industry to the next level.
It is to be note that textile is Pakistan’s largest manufacturing industry, contributing significantly to the country’s GDP and employment.
According to WealthPK’s report titled: Overview of textile industry in Pakistan: E-textile industry in Pakistan is vertically integrated, covering the entire textile value chain, from cotton ginning to finished products. However, the industry is facing several challenges, including high energy costs, obsolete machinery, low productivity and intense competition from other textile-producing countries. To overcome these challenges, the textile industry needs to modernise its machinery, improve productivity, and explore new export markets.
The report aims at discussing the crucial role of CPEC in elevating Pakistan’s textile industry to new heights.
Under CPEC, several projects have been initiated in collaboration with China to help boost the textile industry. Some of these projects are as follows: The Textile City Faisalabad is a joint venture between Pakistan and China, covering an area of 1,000 acres. The project includes facilities for spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing and finishing of textiles. The estimated cost of the project is around $1 billion, and it is expected to create job opportunities for around 300,000.
Chinese company Challenge Fashion is investing $150 million in an industrial park on Lahore’s border with Kasur district. The industrial park will house fabric units, dyeing facilities and garment manufacturing units for exporting sportswear to the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other regions of the world. Challenge Fashion plans to make the industrial park a regional supply chain park by inviting more Chinese accessory companies to produce zippers, labels, buttons, etc.
The company currently employs around 3,000 workers, including 28 Chinese nationals, and expects to create nearly 10,000-11,000 new jobs once the industrial park becomes fully functional. The company estimates that in five years, it can reach around $400 million in export revenue.
