Punjab chief minister Maryam Nawaz has announced a range of incentives for domestic and foreign investors in the province’s mining sector, including interest-free loans of up to Rs5 billion, concessional land leases and dedicated mineral processing zones.
Addressing the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2026 in Islamabad, she said the provincial government was seeking international partners to unlock Punjab’s mineral potential and transform its natural resources into shared prosperity.
“Pakistan itself is a treasure trove of gold,” she said, adding that the country’s wealth lay not only above the ground but also beneath it. She said the rivers of Punjab carried gold as well as rare earth elements, minerals and metals in the sand deposited along their course.
The chief minister said surveys and studies were under way to assess gold deposits in rivers in the Mianwali and Attock regions.
She said mismanagement and disorder had prevented the province from fully benefiting from its natural wealth.
The chief minister said the revenue of the Mines and Minerals Department had increased from Rs10 billion to Rs40bn in two and a half years. She attributed the growth to administrative reforms and improvements in the regulatory system, adding that the current revenue figure was only the beginning.
She said Punjab had substantial reserves of emerald, marble, granite, gold, pink salt and ordinary salt, while Chiniot alone possessed an estimated 261.5 million tonnes of iron ore. The government, she added, had also increased earnings from pink salt through value addition instead of exporting it in raw form.
Punjab Mineral Loan Scheme:
Outlining the investment facilitation measures, CM Punjab said her government had removed red tape and unnecessary hurdles through a one-window facilitation system, allowing investors to obtain services without moving from one office to another.
She said Punjab government was offering special concessions in land lease agreements to reduce initial capital requirements, while investors could access interest-free loans of up to Rs5bn, with the provincial government bearing the interest cost. The Punjab government, she said, was also offering solar-powered facilities to industrial estates to reduce energy and fuel expenses.
The chief minister said her government earmarked large-scale mineral processing zone for the first time in Punjab. The government, she added, will offer industrial land on a 15-year lease at nominal monthly rates.
She added that export-oriented industries would receive concessional financial assistance, including loans ranging from Rs100 million to Rs3bn at subsidised markup rates. Loans of up to Rs5bn would carry a markup of five per cent.
For value-added pink salt products, the government was offering interest-free loans of up to Rs50m, repayable in easy instalments over five years. The profit margin on such products could reach 55pc, she said.
Maryam Nawaz said her government completed feasibility studies for strategic minerals. They include rock salt, iron ore, placer gold and construction materials. Punjab government was also offering customs duty concessions at the industrial estate in Khushab.
She said Punjab’s extensive motorway, expressway and highway network provided investors with the necessary infrastructure., Her government, she said, digitalized bidding, work orders, licence renewals and fee payments. The government, she said, was also using drones for digital monitoring and oversight of mining activities.
Free Pneumonia Vaccination:
The Punjab government is administrating pneumonia vaccine free of charge to children under the age of two.
The provincial government is offering the vaccine under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).
Maryam Nawaz, the chief minister of Punjab, has urged parents to complete their children’s vaccination course at basic and rural health centres across Punjab.
She further urged the parents to ensure that children under five receive vaccination against pneumonia. Maryam Nawaz stressed the importance of timely immunisation and public awareness to prevent the potentially fatal infection.
In her message on World Pneumonia Day, she said the day served as a reminder that no one should lose their life to a preventable disease.
Maryam said the Punjab government was taking measures to combat pneumonia, including free vaccination and the provision of modern healthcare facilities at hospitals.
The chief minister said timely diagnosis and vaccination could save lives, particularly those of children and the elderly. She noted that pneumonia claimed the lives of millions of children and elderly people worldwide every year.
She cautioned that the disease could prove particularly life-threatening for children under five and older people. Families, she said, must take extra care of their health during the winter season.
