Chinese entrepreneur signs agreement worth $50 million for seafood export

ISLAMABAD – Gwadar and the country's largest city, Karachi, have partnered with Islamabad to grow the agricultural, power, and logistics sectors.

A Chinese company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to invest $50 million in the Gwadar industrial zone to establish an end-to-end supply chain facility for seafood export to China.

According to a report by Pakistan's state-run news agency, China's Optima Integration Group and Pakistan's Asia Pak Investments have agreed to invest $50 million in the first phase.

According to the MoU, which was facilitated by the Board of Investment. It would generate more than 100 employees in the southwestern area and Karachi, as well as a high-tech processing facility and technology transfer.

The project will also include a Chinese customs clearance facility through which all exports to China will get customs clearance while on Pakistani soil in Gwadar.

The Chinese General Administration of Customs has already approved 79 species of fish for export from Pakistan to China.

In the second phase, officials planned to expand the operation from fish to beef and goat, starting with beef export via cold chain transport.

On behalf of their respective sides, Sam Siu, Chairman of Optima Integration Group of China, and Eusha Saleem Bajwa, Chief Executive Officer of Sino Pak Optima Technologies, signed the MoU.

The signing event was co-chaired by the Federal Minister and Chairman of the Board of Investment, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, and BOI Secretary BOI, Fareena Mazhar.