124 bids received for 61,749-acre forest land

LAHORE: South Punjab Forest Company (SPFC) received 124 bids for 61,749 acres of forest land for commercial purposes in Punjab out of which 43 contracts were already signed.

This was revealed by Tahir Rasheed SPFC CEO during a media briefing on afforestation projects in South Punjab here on Thursday. He said this model of commercial forestry is the first of a kind project in Pakistan, which will benefit the environment and economy alike. He said the project received approval from its board of directors and the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Steering Committee, before it solicited proposals from investors over 99,077 acres of land in South Punjab.

He said, “Due to the comprehensive bidding process, 348 bids were received which were opened by the independent Bids Opening & Evaluation Committee (BOEC) in the presence of bidders. Out of 189 projects, SPFC received bids on 124 projects, which was 61,749 acres out of the total 99,077 acres.

Furthermore, the average produce sharing ratio received was 36 per cent which was double than what was set, 15 per cent.” He said the project received final approval from the cabinet of Punjab government after which the concession agreements have been signed with the investors.

“A total of 43 concession agreements have been signed with the investors so far and now we await for our administrative department (Punjab Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries Department) to direct its field formations to initiate the process of handing over of forestland to concessionaires, who have met the requirements.”

Tahir Rasheed informed about the socio-economic and environmental benefits of SPFC’s initiative, including but not limited to the afforestation of 40 million trees, carbon sequestration of 35 million tons, 15,000 green jobs, 25pc of SPFC’s share to indigenous tree species which will be conserved during the project duration, circulation of Rs 240 billion in the economy and the government to earn Rs 20 billion through the project. Mitigation of climate change through massive carbon sequestration will improve the micro-climate of Punjab and assist the government in achieving its commitments laid out under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Agenda 2030 among others.