KARACHI: Pakistan’s top economic decision-making body has approved plans to build an industrial estate on the land of the country’s largest state-owned steel producer, part of a package of measures aimed at boosting exports, investment and climate diplomacy, the finance division said this week.
Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), located in Karachi, was once the country’s biggest industrial complex but has been largely dormant since 2015 due to financial losses and mismanagement. Successive governments have sought to privatize or repurpose its land and assets.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), which oversees key economic policy, said turning the site into an industrial estate would generate jobs and attract investment.
“The ECC approved the development of an Industrial Estate on the land of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) in Karachi, aimed at boosting industrial activity, generating employment opportunities, and attracting investment,” the Finance Division said in a statement after a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday evening.
The ECC also approved measures to support Pakistan’s leather industry, including scrapping the requirement for health quarantine certificates on imports and exports to “enhance its competitiveness in international markets.”
