Ali Aslam: The total project cost is Rs6

billion and the project were initiated in

2015. And Daewoo will be receiving royalty
for the use of their brand as we have
chosen Daewoo Batteries. Daewoo is one
of the worlds leading battery
manufacturers and our association with the
company will bring about increased
synergies as well as a solid product.

BRR: Tell us how you came to decide

upon the location of the plant? Also how
much land area has been acquired?

AA: This is something that took almost six to eight months to finalise. Being a group
based out of Lahore, we realized the land prices have become very high in Lahore and
a big piece of land is not available anymore in one chunk, especially in industrial areas.

That meant either compromising on the factory or looking someplace else. Finally, we
ended up with the Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management
Corporation (FIEDMC), and its CEO Mr. Amir Saleemi has been very helpful and
cooperative in helping us find the location for the battery plant in FIEDMC.

Positive factors about FIEDMC include the connection through M-3, which makes it a
good location for an industrial estate. They are also very strict about when you develop
the project. Once when you get the piece of land you have a certain time frame in
which you have to start the project. If you dont start the project during that timeframe
they can take the land away from you. So, only serious industrialists come in.

The land is also not allowed to be sold, which means investors are not here and there is
no middleman. This results in almost no price escalation as such. There is also the
option to avail interest free installments over four years, which makes the load on the
industrialists much less when it comes to investment in the land.

The total land area consists of 40 acres, and the battery plant is being built upon 24
acres. So we have another 16 acres, which is available for future expansions if need be.
The total covered area of the factory site is 35000 sq. metres.

BRR: Which contractors and firms have you partnered with for plant development
as well as machinery import?

AA: Our main contractor is Sambu, which is a Korean company and they have been
operating in Pakistan for over 30 years. They do mainly infrastructure projects and `are
engaged with the federal and provincial governments in Pakistan.

Locally, we are working with companies including DESCON, Packages Ltd., Hasin
Habib, which are all recognised names when it comes to major manufacturing suppliers