Karachi: A game-changing pilot project successfully completed by the Sindh government has put Pakistan on the list of palm oil producing countries.
The Sindh Government’s Department of Environment and Coastal Development along with Sindh Coastal Development Authority successfully executed the project to grow for the first time oil palm trees and to build the unit to indigenously extract palm oil near the coastal strip in Thatta District.
The project was first envisioned by late former prime minister Benazir Bhutto to use coastal areas of Sindh for oil palm plantation. This is the first time anywhere in Pakistan that a project has been executed to indigenously produce palm oil.
Sindh Environment and Coastal Development Adviser Barrister Murtaza Wahab visited the newly established mill in Ghulamullah Town of Thatta for extraction of palm oil from the nearby oil palm tree plantation in the district.
According to Barrister Wahab, the country by doing indigenous production of palm oil would be able to save up to four billion US Dollars annually otherwise being constantly spent to import the precious edible commodity from the Southeast Asian countries.
Two tonnes a day
He said the oil palm tree plantation and palm oil production on indigenous basis was a game-changer project of Sindh government. He said the pilot project was capable of producing two tonnes of palm oil on a daily basis.
He said the Sindh government had undertaken the pilot project to grow 1,100 oil palm trees on 50 acres land in Kathore Forest area of Thatta. He said that after successful completion of the pilot project, the oil palm trees would now be grown on 1500 acres area.
He appreciated the services and hard work of the officials and staffers of Environment and Coastal Development Department and provincial Coastal Development Authority for successfully completing the project of palm oil production in the province. He said the unit of palm oil production had been imported from China.
He said the indigenous production of palm oil would bring in massive investment in Thatta for job creation for the local people.
Barrister Wahab said the successful completion of the palm oil production project was another project of Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sindh government like Thar coal extraction to serve the people in the best manner.
