Karachi Marble City project targets stone processing and export growth

“A $250 million Marble City industrial project is being set up on more than 300 acres along Karachi’s Northern Bypass to promote local processing of marble and granite.”

— Editorial Team

Key points

A $250 million Marble City industrial project is being set up on more than 300 acres along Karachi’s Northern Bypass to promote local processing of marble and granite.
Officials say investor registration is expected to begin next month, while the project remains at its launch stage.

Business|By Editorial Team|Published 5 hours ago

Pakistan’s first Marble City is being established in Karachi, with the Sindh government presenting the project as an industrial zone for processing marble and granite into higher-value products. The project was discussed at a pre-launch ceremony for the Karachi Marble City Industrial Park.

Sindh Information, Transport and Mass Transit Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said the development is intended to create investment opportunities, expand industrial activity and generate employment. He said the proposed industrial zone would process stone reserves from Sindh and other parts of Pakistan using modern techniques for products aimed at export markets.

The project is planned on more than 300 acres along Karachi’s Northern Bypass and carries an estimated cost of $250 million, according to Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Investment and Public-Private Partnership Qasim Naveed Qamar. It is being developed under a public-private partnership model, which means private-sector participation is expected alongside government involvement.

The stated policy objective is to increase domestic processing of marble and granite instead of exporting raw material. Turning raw stone into finished or semi-finished products can add value within Pakistan, but the project’s commercial results will depend on investor participation, infrastructure, machinery, energy costs and access to export markets.

The minister said land in the project was being priced at about Rs25 million per acre. Investors who cannot pay the full amount in one payment would be offered an instalment facility, according to the announcement. Registration for investors and industrialists is scheduled to begin next month.

Officials also said they were exploring measures to reduce operating costs for industry. These include efforts to make machinery available on rent, provide access to advanced equipment and offer lower-cost electricity to industrial units. A proposal is under consideration to provide electricity at Rs20 per unit for provincial projects, particularly in Dhabeji and Khairpur, though no final tariff decision for Marble City was announced.

The formal inauguration is expected to be performed by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. The project is therefore at the launch and investor-registration stage, not yet an operating industrial estate. Its progress can be assessed through the release of project timelines, investor registrations, infrastructure work and the start of marble and granite processing units.