20000330

Chinese investors to set up corporate farms in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Government of Pakistan has decided to facilitate lease of agriculture lands to major Chinese corporations interested in corporate farming in different areas of the country, official sources said on Tuesday.

Federal Agriculture Ministry officials will meet representatives of provincial departments on March 9 to finalise modalities and terms of lease of state-owned agricultural lands as proposed by Chinese investors, sources said.

Officials privy to the agenda of the March 9 meeting said it would also review a Chinese proposal of setting up a pesticide plant in Pakistan.

Sources said provincial authorities concerned have been asked to come to the meeting with details of land available for grant of lease rights to foreign investors. They have been asked to identify available state-owned lands well ahead of the meeting.

Director General of the Sindh government's Plant Protection Department has been asked to prepare a brief identifying a suitable site for the proposed pesticides plant and also look into economic viability of such a project.

Official sources said government's proposed policy of granting lease rights to foreign investors to encourage corporate farming was presented before the Chinese corporations during the Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf's visit to China. Sources said Chinese response to the proposal was highly encouraging and there were signs that Pakistan could firm-up the first deal with a Chinese corporation within a month.

Sources were critical of provincial governments, which, they said, were slow in responding to the queries raised by Chinese and other foreign investors and thus leading to delay in actual signing of agreements.

Sources said primary objective of leasing farm land to interested Chinese investors was to promote sharing of skill and technology to augment agriculture output in Pakistan. Fortuna