ISLAMABAD-The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Investment Facilitation Centre (KPIFC) is soliciting proposals for setting up modern industrial stitching units to promote self-employment and boost the textile apparel industry in the province, reported WealthPK. In the first phase of the project, 150 industrial stitching units out of a total of 1,000 will be established across the country. The estimated cost of the project is Rs350.545 million. The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA), under the Ministry of Industries and Production, will execute the project.
The mandate of the project includes fostering public-private partnerships to increase value addition in the textile apparel industry by developing industrial stitching units and supporting small and medium-sized businesses.
In addition, a matching grant of 60% will be given under the initiative to cover the cost of the machinery needed to set up an industrial stitching unit through the funds of the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). Relevant SMEs will be responsible for bearing the remaining 40% of the cost.
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The National Textile University, Faisalabad, has also offered to impart training to SMEs. Ijaz Ali, a research associate at the Centre for Business and Economic Research, told WealthPK that the initiative focused on skill development as a method of fostering self-employment.
He said that the project would help to improve the living standard of the targeted population by providing them with means of livelihood. The initiative will also help to increase exports of the textile industry.
“The project will empower the targeted communities and allow them to initiate and control their own development,” said Ijaz Ali.
He said that the export of textile products from the country grew by 4% and its volume reached $4.584 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal as compared to $4.421 billion in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
According to WealthPK research, the main objectives of the project include promoting self-employment through skill development; increasing exports through value addition by enhancing the competitiveness of the textile sector in the garments manufacturing sub-sector; upgrading Pakistan’s textile industry by subsidising machinery for new entrepreneurs and existing manufacturers; and promoting the share of value-added products in the total textile exports from Pakistan.
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The project will empower the womenfolk of the country through skill development and their participation in economic activities. The initiative will also enhance the quality of garment products and improve the socioeconomic conditions of the targeted community through human resource development in the textile sector.
The Nation, 01 Jan, 2023