PIEDMC’s management team, under the leadership of its chairman, Syed Nabeel Hashmi, and CEO PIEDMC Javed Illyas is working to inaugurate work on a state-of-the-art Customer Facilitation Centre at QBP. Muazzam Ali, COO PIEDMC, who is overlooking the development of QBP as the project in-charge, describes this coming Multipurpose Complex as unique and one of its kind. Not one industrial state present in Pakistan at the moment has been able to develop a customer service complex of this nature which is being provided by QBP near Sheikhupura.
Moreover, none of the industrial states which are being conceived, in Punjab or anywhere else in Pakistan, at the moment have a multipurpose complex of this stature and capacity. PIEDMC has always supported the idea of providing its industrialists with top-notch facilities. It believes that equal attention should be paid to both the quality of infrastructure and the quality of customer service. Keeping in mind the significance of this complex, it is being constructed near the main entrance of the business park.
What this Multipurpose Complex will offer to businesses?Â
It is important to note that this complex will have six storeys and every storey will have approximately 50,000 square feet. Through this complex, industrialists would have access to offices, showrooms, shops, business centers, auditorium, hotels, restaurants, and food courts which are to be constructed in the near future.
This center would also have the offices of PIEDMC itself and construction of a technologically advanced medical center is also a part of the plan. Customer convenience is PIEDMC ‘s priority and this is why this multipurpose complex would have twenty executive apartments, two gymnasiums, coffee shops, etc. This Multipurpose Complex would provide all kinds of resources, facilities, and logistic support that are needed by the companies that are setting up there.
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Once completed, this six storey building aims to attract not only the residents of QBP but also the people residing in Sheikhupura. The cost of this project would be approximately Rs. two billion which will be met by PIEDMC from its own revenue. PIEDMC is a Public-Private Partnership Company concerned with the development of this mega project. In the first phase, PIEDMC would be contributing Rs 1 billion for the development of this project. The second phase of development would start soon if the customer response is favorable.
Why QBP is important?Â
Quaid-e-Azam Business Park (QBP), located near Sheikhupura is a landmark project by the Punjab Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (PIEDMC) which has launched about nine industrial zones including the much talked about Sundar Industrial Estate (100% colonized). This large industrial state, spread over 1536 acres of land once completed as per its envisaged master plan and business concept, can attract investments of around Rs 250 billion. This modern industrial state enjoys the status of a special economic zone (SEZ) and is said to have the capacity to generate two hundred and fifty thousand new jobs for skilled and unskilled workers. The Industries Department of the Punjab Government is especially keen on getting QBP completed as soon as possible to stimulate business and investments across Pakistan’s largest province.
QBP’s envisaged structures will be spread over around 1536 acres of land which makes it bigger than PIEDMC’s first project Sunder Industrial Estate (SIE), located near Lahore. It comprises 653 industrial plots ranging from 0.5 acres to more than 4 acres to accommodate a diverse range of industries including mobile phone manufacturing, chemicals, plastic to auto parts, electronics, and logistics. The reason QBP is attracting a huge number of investors is due to its optimal location, as it is only 6 KM from the nearest railway station, 42 KM from the nearest dry port (Lahore), and 55 KM from the nearest airport (Lahore).
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Moreover, due to it being a special economic zone (SEZ), it would have access to certain facilities that aren’t usually available to investors in the rest of the country. The one-window operation that is established in industrial estates like QBP in a bid to facilitate local and foreign businessmen in solving various issues can play a very important role in drawing in more investments. These one-window centers provide multiple services to the industrialists via a single platform which helps them in avoiding bureaucratic hassles. The Multipurpose complex has also been designed for the convenience of the businessmen who are interested in establishing their industries there.
The construction work for the 300,000 square feet, six storey, Multipurpose complex would kick off once the inauguration is approved by the Punjab government. The complete details of this project have been submitted to the Punjab Government several weeks ago. The building complex will be constructed over 10-acre land and will include offices, shops, display centers, business centers, bed & breakfast hotel, factory outlets, emergency center, etc.
It was anticipated that the inauguration would take place in the first week of January but it had to be postponed due to the illness of the Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar – who was down with covid-19 in December. However, now that Mr. Buzdar has recovered, it is expected that this project may still be launched before the end of January.
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