SIFC: work started on projects worth $10 billion

ISLAMABAD: Under the umbrella of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), 37 new projects valued at billions of dollars have been initiated across six sectors in the country.

SIFC is presently engaged in a total of 106 projects, fostering collaboration and investment in various sectors.

A $200 million contract for pink salt has been finalised with the American company Mircale Salt, the documents obtained by the Hum Investigation Team (HIT) revealed.

According to documents obtained by the investment team, the Record Project has been offered to Saudi Arabia, while a contract worth $150 million has been signed with the international company Barite Lead Zinc. Additionally, a contract worth seventy million dollars for solar salt has been finalised.

According to the documents, it has been revealed that a contract worth $180 million for a soda ash plant has also been finalised. SIFC’s investment team has identified 7.2 million acres of land for investment. In this regard, business entities have also been offered 900,000 acres of land for agriculture and industrial purposes.

As per the documents, projects in agriculture and natural resources, 12 each, industries, 53, and tourism, 19, are progressing rapidly. Contracts for investment have been finalized on 140,000 acres of land with China, France, Bahrain, and the USA. 211 contracts have been made with local businessmen for 800,000 acres of land.

According to the documents, contracts for livestock imports have also been finalised with Brazil. Company profits have increased from $22 billion to $70 billion. Telecommuting and arbitration tribunals have also been established.

Seven final contracts and two framework contracts have been signed with the UAE, in addition to seven framework contracts with Kuwait. A contract has also been signed with Saudi Arabia. In this context, working groups have been formed with Kuwait and the UAE.

Furthermore, PIA and distribution companies (DISCOs) have been authorised for privatisation, while the steel mill has been excluded from the list of entities eligible for private ownership.

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Negotiations with the UAE have already been conducted under the government-to-government policy for the privatisation of First Women Bank. Furthermore, it has been mentioned in the documents that under the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) restructuring plan, the tax will increase by 15 per cent.