PIVOT: Punjab's Rs 1,089 billion plan promises 162,000 jobs and $6.8 billion more exports by 2029

Punjab has launched PIVOT, a three-year economic programme that commits Rs 1,089 billion of provincial government money and expects another Rs 906 billion from private investors between 2026 and 2029. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif unveiled it in Lahore on Friday together with a new investor portal called STEP, ARY News reported. PIVOT stands for Punjab Innovation for Value, Opportunity and Transformation.

The targets in numbers

Put together, the plan expects close to Rs 2 trillion of public and private money. Divided across the 162,000 jobs it promises, that is roughly Rs 12.3 million of investment per job, and the training target works out to about 134,000 people a year.

Where the money goes

Industry takes the largest share, Rs 753.7 billion. The province says it will refund duty on machinery, support factories that install solar panels and battery storage, and back garments, sports goods, leather and footwear, pharmaceuticals, fans and ceramics, the sectors where Punjab already exports.

Agriculture gets four agro-processing parks at Sargodha, Khanewal, Okara and Bhakkar, built around fruit processing, cold storage and grading so farmers can sell more of their crop at a better price. Farm machinery, storage, meat and dairy processing, animal disease prevention and farm credit are also listed, along with shrimp farming and fisheries.

Tourism plans centre on historical and religious sites, Lahore's night-time economy, the Potohar region and Cholistan.

Skills and technology cover digital training, IT internships, international certifications and start-up incubation.

What it means for you

• Factory owners and SMEs: the Rs 300 billion loan window at 0% to 5% is far below the market. The 12-month KIBOR that most bank loans are priced on stood at 13.04% on Friday, so eligibility rules will matter more than anything else in the plan. They have not yet been published.
• Solar for factories: if you are weighing a rooftop system before the support scheme opens, the solar payback calculator shows how long it takes to recover the cost at your tariff.
• Farmers near Sargodha, Khanewal, Okara and Bhakkar: the parks are meant to give you cold storage and buyers closer to home.
• Young jobseekers: the training and internship programmes will be the first part most people can apply for.

What we do not know yet

The launch did not give dates for when loan applications open, the criteria for each scheme, or how the Rs 1,089 billion will be split across the three budget years. The chief minister said investor facilitation and transparent monitoring would be central, and that reforms to industrial land policy, public-private partnerships and labour rules would follow. State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad and members of the Pakistan Business Council attended the launch.

We will add the application details here when the Punjab government publishes them.