MoMA envisages plan to set up ‘garment city’ at Port Qasim

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Maritime Affairs has envisaged as a public-private partnership-based plan to establish a 400-acre garment city project at Port Qasim Karachi, projecting creation of over 138,000 jobs and generating annual exports of around USD 2.2 billion with the completion of the first phase of the plan.

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, while chairing a meeting on a proposed garment city project here on Monday, revealed that the export-oriented manufacturing cluster would focus on high-value apparel production and attract private investment.

According to the project, the first phase would cover 250 acres, with 35 percent allocated for internal roads, utilities and green areas.

The proposed commercial structure comprises 32 industrial plots of five acres each, although the plot size could be reduced to two or three acres to accommodate more investors and manufacturing units.

The Port Qasim Authority (PQA) would provide infrastructure and utilities. Each industrial unit would have access to up to 400,000 gallons of water a day, two megawatts of on-grid electricity and 23,100 pounds of industrial gas a day at 8 pounds per square inch (PSI), enough to support requirements for 10 tonnes of steam. Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a unit used to measure pressure. It indicates how much force is applied over one square inch of area. For example, 8 PSI means eight pounds of force acting on each square inch.

For the overall project, planned utility capacity includes 13 million gallons of water a day, 64MW of on-grid electricity and 750,000 pounds of industrial gas a day.

Junaid Chaudhry said private-sector participation would be a key component of the project.

Under the plan, a Pakistani textile and denim manufacturing company, Artistic Milliners would establish a manufacturing unit with an investment of more than USD 18 million, incorporating vertical integration and green technologies.

The project would also have a one-window mechanism for exporters, including streamlined export processing, specialised customs desks and dedicated transport corridors.

The project also aims to raise the average export value of garments to around $8 per piece. The minister said the initiative was part of efforts to expand Pakistan’s industrial base and export capacity, with port infrastructure, utilities, customs facilities and private investment integrated into the proposed apparel zone.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026