KARACHI: A Chinese company has agreed to spend $50 million in the Gwadar industrial zone to build an end-to-end supply chain facility for seafood export to China, according to a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Gwadar and Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, have teamed up with Islamabad to expand the agricultural, power, and logistics industries.

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

The MoU, which was brokered by the Board of Investment, states that More than 100 jobs would be created in the southwestern region and Karachi, as well as a high-tech processing plant and technology transfer.

The project would also include a Chinese customs clearance facility in Gwadar, where all exports to China will be cleared while still on Pakistani soil.

79 species of fish have previously been certified for shipment from Pakistan to China by the Chinese General Administration of Customs.

Officials planned to extend the operation from fish to beef and goat in the second phase, beginning with beef export via cold chain transport.

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

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