Sialkot Tannery Zone Relocation Project;

UNIDO and GoP Join Hands

The major environmental problems in the Sialkot tanning area are an opportunity for the tanneries to modernize and relocate to a purpose built tanning zone with common effluent treatment facilities known as Sialkot Tannery Zone (STZ). Mr. Ivan Král, UNIDO, Agri-Business Development Branch, Vienna during a scheduled meeting with all stakeholders held in Islamabad presented issues concerning appropriate development of the STZ in order to become world class tannery zone.

Relocation offers opportunities for the modernization of the tanneries in the region, particularly when it comes to environmental control. The development of STZ should be much more than a relocation of the industry from Sialkot. It offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to place the entire export-oriented leather industry in Pakistan firmly on the world map, Punjab Government, PTA, STAGL, LPDI/CPC, UN-HABITAT and UNIDO are implementing a project with the objective to prepare the local tanning industry for relocation and plan new STZ accordingly.

As a part of the relocation project UNIDO will assist with finalization of the Master plan for STZ including conceptual tannery designs. For each design a conceptual plant layout (including production, storage and management areas), the operational sequence, the list of equipment and related investment costs, labour and energy requirements and estimated production costs are provided. The proposed plant would use cleaner production techniques, some of them inclusive of effluent pre-treatment facilities. In addition up-to-date information is offered on technology (equipment) suppliers including training and demonstration of recommended cleaner technologies (like hair save processing, water management, chrome management, solar water heating, OSH etc).

In the recent past there have been several similar projects and leather zones set-up in various countries and successfully established including the Bursa Leather Complex, Kolkata Leather Complex, India, Tuzla Leather Complex, Turkey, Tabriz, Iran etc, however it is important to avoid any possible mistakes in order to relocate the tanneries and use the experience taught by previous projects for STZ.