Nowshera District
Trend Analysis
Demographics | 1998 | 2017 |
Area SqKms | 1257 | 1257 |
Population | 874,373 | 1,518,540 |
Population Density / SqKm | 500.2 | 870 |
Urban Population | 227030 | 338650 |
Rural Population | 647343 | 1179890 |
Total Housing Units | 112042 | 198808 |
Housing Units having Electricity | 101402 | 176856 |
Housing Units Having Piped Water | 24140 | 37675 |
Housing Unit using Gas for cooking | 24140 | 33255 |
Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
Outline
District Nowshera is one of the economically developed region of KP Province. It is has a thriving agriculture and horticulture sector along with mining industries (marble), mineral reserves, and manufacturing industries (locomotive factory, cement, tobacco factory, textiles, beverages, ceramics, edible oil/ghee, and soaps/shampoo etc.). For Nowshera to grow economically, the focus should remain on the polishing the current sectors, which can make this district a ‘Multifaceted Hub of Mineral processing, Construction, Manufacturing and Agriculture’. The district economy would be significantly uplifted once industries start operations in Rashakai Special Economic Zone. KPOGCL has identified hydrocarbon deposit in Nowshera block which consists of Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi and Buner districts presenting joint venture opportunity for national and international firms for exploration and production.
1. Mining Sector
Snapshot
Nowshera truly is rich with all types of minerals. As per KP Bureau of Statistics report on mineral deposits in each district (year 2012-13), Nowshera has one of the highest reserves of lime stone (2,596,531 tons, marble 6,661 tons, latrite 17,576 tons, fire clay 5,098 tons, dolomite 14,155 tons, coal 9,344 tons, shale clay 516,263 tons, slate stone 55,549 tons, soap stone 1,830 tons. Lime stone, shale clay, dolomite, latrite, slate stone in particular, are produced in enough quantity not only to meet the domestic demands but also regional demands. There is already a cement factory operating in district along with several hundred marble units. However, more research is required for proper estimation of mineral reserves in the area due to the fact that Pakistan Stone Development Company (PASDEC) reports reserves of 520 million ton marble in Nowshera district.
According to a research conducted by the Department of Mining Engineering UET Peshawar, Cherat coalfield which is located in Nowshera district has coal reserves of 7.74 Million tons was found in Shekhai, Jabba Khattak, Bakhtai and Shah Kot areas of Cherat range.
Strengths
- Rich reservoirs of minerals.
- Marble processing maybe feasible due to its abundance in the district.
Opportunities
In order to overcome the above mentioned challenges faced by the industry, and make it more competitive for global market, following policy recommendations can be adopted:
- Establish a ’Mineral and Construction City’ , preferable in Nowshera Economic Zone and ensure provision of:
- Availability of plots at reasonable prices, basic utilities, i.e. electricity, gas, insurance, security etc. for potential investors in construction sectors.
- A small scale power generation unit for supplying uninterrupted electricity to the industrial units.
- A research institute for mineral extraction and processing.
- Technical Training Center designed for the technical and professional staff such as geologists, mining engineers and inspectors etc.
- Shopping Mall and Hotels.
- Business Park and Office Space.
- Representative offices of KP Mineral Development Department.
- Freight Handling & Customs Centre.
- Simplification of legal procedures for licensing to increase transparency.
- Create Mining Environmental Unit to regulate and monitor the environmental issues of the mining sector in coordination with Environmental Protection Agency.
- A small electricity generation unit based on coal can also be setup in the area with the help of foreign investors.
- The office of KP Mineral Development Department should offer regular assistance to miners and lease holders on modern mining techniques, equipment handling and environmental safety.
- Immediate surveys should be conducted to estimate the exact amount of minerals found in the district;
- Assistance for geological survey could be sought from Germany, Italy Austria etc. (countries with experience of mining minerals).
- Financial assistance could be taken from World Bank or Asian Development Bank etc.
- KP Mineral Development Department needs to prepare an Investor’s Brief that clearly quantify / identify the potential of mining minerals in the area, and state the current level of investigation for the total amount of minerals available.
- To increase accessibility of local mine and industry owners to finance, KP Government can use following options;
- Establish a ‘Mineral Development Bank’ for financial and technical support of mining industry.
- Encourage all state owned and private banks to offer credit schemes designed according to the demands of mining sector.
2. Horticulture
Snapshot
According to the 2015-16 Crop Statistics report of the Agriculture Department of KP, Nowshera 52,528 hectares, 53,802 hectares of cropped area, 125,542 hectares of uncultivated area. Horticulture sector of Nowshera District produces a vast variety of vegetable and fruit products. Among fruits, citrus (Malta) of Manki is the most famous, other fruits include pear, peaches, musk melon, guava, banana, apricot, persimmon, plum, loquat of Nowshera are of good quality (Fruits, vegetables & condiments statistics Agriculture Department 2013-14). In the vegetable category, pumpkin, bitter ground, arum, spinach, tomato, potato, turnip, chilies, onion, okra and garlic are quite well known. Almost of all of these products are grown in private farms. Given the advent of CPEC in KP, it is high time that the horticulture of Nowshera District is given a boost so that it can become a major “Fruit Supply Centre” to China, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Strengths
- Agriculture department of KP, in collaboration with Agriculture University of KP, could apprise local farming community of productivity levels of different crops, vegetables and fruits in this area.
Opportunities
To fully utilize the potential of this sector, following steps can be taken by KP Agriculture Department:
- Assisting the local farmers in restoring and expanding their farms in cooperation with USAID and Botany Department of University of Peshawar.
- Regular workshops and seminars should be conducted to educate farmers on modern farming techniques. In this regard, assistance from USAID could also be sought.
- Secretariat of Commerce can facilitate the apple farmers in establishing new linkages with foreign buyers, in Middle East, Central Asia, China and Eastern Europe –– since these regions would now be more easily connected to Nowshera via CPEC and corresponding OBOR trade network.
- Food companies, specialized in making fruit based products –– juices, marmalades jams, yoghurts, creams etc. –– can be invited to setup their processing plants in the Special Economic Zone since besides Nowshera, the other districts like Peshawar, Mardan Charsadda offers high number of fruits and vegetables because of having fertile land.
- ’Private regulated markets’ can be introduced in the region, which not only can increase the productivity of horticulture but would also benefit both consumers and sellers. For this, these steps are needed to be taken:
- Streamline the management structure.
- Educate the farmers and distributors about the value of hygiene and value addition, and ensure they provide quality products.
- Promote gradual institutional development.
- Avoid rigidities of predetermined, fixed staff.
- Make revenue collection automatic.
- Investments to improve common infrastructure and facilities should be a continual process.
- Promote mechanism for public private partnership.
- Minimize the pre and post-harvest losses through strategic planning.
- Increase overall production and value of horticulture crops.
3. Agriculture
Snapshot
Like the sector of horticulture, Nowshera District also carries a significant comparative advantage in production of cereal crops (wheat, maize etc.) and cash crops (sugarcane etc.) (According to the 2015-16 Crop Statistics report of the Agriculture Department of KP).
In fact, the agricultural production of Nowshera is among the highest in the entire province, largely thanks to irrigation system and fertility of the land. It is why this district has a number of flour mills along with industrial setup of British American Tobacco. Though the agriculture sector is fairly developed but there is still an opportunity to improve and make it an able sector that can compete with global markets.
Strengths
- Fertile land.
- Production of Cereal and Cash Crops.
- Agriculture production is among the highest of districts.
- Ability to compete with international markets in agricultural segment if proper strategy is implemented.
Opportunities
The Government of KP can act upon following recommendations to increase the efficiency of this sector:
- Given low education level of local farming community and their subsistence farming approach, it is advised that:
- Regular workshops and seminars should be conducted to educate farmers on modern farming techniques. In this regard, assistance from international donors could also be sought.
- To make credit easily accessible to local farmers following actions can be taken;
- Encourage commercial banks to offer credits to the farmers. Khyber Bank and ZTBL can play an important role in this regard.
- Educate the farmers how easy credit schemes could help them in getting accessories and expanding their output.
4. Rashakai Sepcial Economic Zone
Address: Zone Site Office, M1 Kernal Sher Khan Interchange District Nowshera KP
Contact Person: Ahsan Laiq (Acting Manager Estate Office-Rashakai)
Email: ahsan.siddiq@kpezdmc.org.pk
Phone Number: +92 309 9062376
5. Jalozai Economic Zone
Address: KPEZDMC Estate Office, Jalozai Industrial Estate, Near UET Jalozai Stop, Tehsil & District Nowshera.
Contact Person: Tahir Subhan (Acting Manager Estate Office-Jalozai)
Email: tahir.subhan@kpezdmc.org.pk
Phone Number: +92 333 9991399, 0923 577093
6. Nowshera Economic Zone
Nowshera 1
Nowshera 2
Address: KPEZDMC Zone Office, Nowshera Economic Zone, Bara Banda, Near Locomotive Factory Risalpur, Nowshera KP
Contact Person: Sardar Ali (Acting Manager Estate Office-Nowshera)
Email: sardar.ali@kpezdmc.org.pk
Phone Number: +92 333 9848167, 0937 842666
7. Nowshera Economic Zone (Extension)
Address: KPEZDMC Zone Office, Nowshera Economic Zone, Bara Banda, Near Locomotive Factory Risalpur, Nowshera KP
Contact Person: Sardar Ali (Acting Manager Estate Office-Nowshera (Extension))
Email: sardar.ali@kpezdmc.org.pk
Phone Number: +92 333 9848167
8. Conclusion
Nowshera district is full of opportunities for the investors in the field of oil and gas exploration, agribusiness support, mining and mineral processing value chain, development of special economic zone on priority. Given favorable investment environment and sustainable development policies, investment from national and international firms specializing in above mention sectors can generate revenues for the district economy and create employment opportunities for the locals.