China's Century Steel Mill warns of shutting down plant in Rashakai Economic Zone
Nov 16, 2024
Islamabad [Pakistan], November 16 : China's Century Steel Mill has warned of shutting down its plant in the Rashakai Economic Zone as the company lists 18 specific grievances, ARY News reported.
Rashakai SEZ is a flagship project under the industrial cooperation of China China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework and is listed as the prioritized CPEC SEZ by the China-Pakistan Joint Cooperation Committee.
According to ARY News, Century Steel complained about its problems to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif through a letter and informed them about its decision to halt the project.
The letter stated that the high cost of land in the economic zone is making the project unviable, while unfair competition from FATA and PATA-based steel mills is impacting the steel industry across Pakistan, ARY News reported.
Century Mill complained that power shortages and delays in approvals by NEPRA have made it hard for the company to operate, ARY News reported.
Obstacles in machinery imports, rising cost of steel and extreme security expenses are among the challenges faced by the company. The company gave the Pakistan government a final warning and urged it to improve the situation.
"This is our final communication. If the situation doesn't improve, we will begin dismantling the plant," the company wrote in the letter.
