Due to raise in the demand in the international market, Pakistan, in an organised manner, can earn $40 million annually from export of marble and granite.
The country's total export of marble and granite, which was around $5 million in 1997, has risen to $19 million last year, official sources said here on Monday.
Official figures revealed the NWFP marble reserves, which constitute 97 percent of the country's total deposits, alone earned $4 million from export in 1997 and can get major share in the estimated $40 million dollars export in the next four years.
An official of Smeda said that there were inexhaustible deposits of different colours and shades of marble and granite in the NWFP and the Federally Administered Tribal Area.
The federal government is inviting the investors both local and foreign for investment in this sector to fetch profit through its export.
For uplift of this sector, a policy for mineral development was approved by the NWFP government and 25 percent freight subsidy was also announced.