Overview
- The financing scheme was digitally launched Wednesday by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and establishes a proposed 110‑acre Pink Salt Mineral Processing Zone near Quaidabad.
- New investors can apply for interest‑free loans between Rs5 million and Rs50 million with repayment over five years to fund processing, refining, packaging and export‑grade machinery.
- Officials expect the zone to host more than 200 processing units and create about 10,000 direct jobs while Punjab aims to market processed pink salt under a 'Made in Pakistan' label.
- Authorities reported strong auction interest, citing bids of Rs471 million in a first phase and offers totalling Rs2.5 billion in a second phase, and said Mines and Minerals Department digitisation has raised revenue.
- Officials project up to $300 million a year in foreign exchange from value‑added pink salt but coverage shows an unresolved discrepancy over the zone's expected investment (reported as around $150 million in one account and Rs150 million in another).