Granite extraction from Thar: Rs 1,450 million earmarked to import machinery from Italy

The government has earmarked Rs 1,450 million for the extraction of granite from Thar, Sindh by developing and importing modern machinery from Italy.
Sources in the Ministry of Industries, Production and Special Initiatives told Business Recorder on Saturday that President Pervez Musharraf approved the funds while chairing a meeting on the development of marble and granite reserves the other day at Rawalpindi.
The allocated funds would be utilised to extract the granite from the reserves in Karonjhar of Thar, Sindh during two years, the sources added.
In the first year, Rs 620 million would be spent to import machinery and other equipment from Italy, being the leading country in market exports while Rs 830 million would be utilised during 2007-08 to extract the granite from the reserves, they said.
The President was informed that the quality of granite reserves in Thar is superior to those in Italy and the reserve is larger in quantity. Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) would supervise the project.
Unfortunately, the processing strength for granite in the country remains unsatisfactory. There are only nine units, of which four are operational. All of these units have an average investment of over Rs 20 million with gang saws, block cutters and polishing heads. Due to hardness of granite, production capacity of processing units is low as compared to marble.
Average production of these units is 6,000 to 8,000 sq.ft per month per unit, the sources added. Most of the units even those with good quality machinery set ups are unable to produce high quality products because of substandard raw materials and low skill level of the workers, they said.