The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) is setting up product development center for composite-based sports goods in Sialkot with a cost of Rs 487.97 million.
Project that would be completed in five years would start in July 2017 and would be completed in July 2022. The main objectives of the project included provision of common facility service in manufacturing of composite sport goods – hockey sticks, baseball and cricket bats, rackets and fishing, tackle and golf sticks.
The Sports Industries Development Centre (SIDC), Sialkot, will provide land for the project while building or civil works will cost Rs 135.08 million.
An amount of Rs 179.19 million will be spent for procurement of machinery to be installed at the Centre while Rs 9.75 million will be made available for purchase of equipment, furniture and fixture. Other expenditures include Rs 2.70 million for the purchase of vehicle; Rs 16.34 million will be set aside for miscellaneous and contingency expenditures.
Besides, Rs 119.71 million will be provided for operation cost of the product development centre.
The centre will provide skilled workforce to industry for hockey, golf sticks, cricket bats and rackets and will also train 100 students in this field. As many as 125 prototypes for different products will be developed at the product development centre. Under the project, a laboratory having capacity of testing of products and raw materials would be made available.
The proposed project will help and prepare local industry to aggressively enter the international market of composite-based sports goods. The exports of composite-based sports goods may increase from US $1.67 million to US 319.39 million dollars by 2025 while the value addition is likely to grow by 20 percent per annum.
