The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) will make the Fruits Dehydration Unit in Swat operational by mid of this year.
This was stated by the SMEDA spokesperson while commenting on a news item published about the said project in Pakistan Today on Thursday last.
“The subject project has been funded through the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and allocation of funds has been made in FY20 to complete the project by June 2020. Hence the deadline for activation of this project has yet not been expired,” he said.
The spokesman clarified that the project is being completed within the given timeframe and will be operational by mid of this year to facilitate the stakeholders.
He further informed that the fruit dehydration facility is being established for the processing (washing, slicing, packing, and storing) of fruits and vegetables as a common facility centre for local growers, processors and exporters to provide dehydrated fruit, supported by packaging as per international standards.
SMEDA aims to implement this project to replace existing hazardous and obsolete sun drying methods with modern machinery and minimize post-harvest losses, which are estimated 35pc in fresh fruits. The project is meant to improve the livelihood of the local communities by increasing employment opportunities offering 15 direct and 1,000 indirect jobs.
According to official details, almost 90 per cent of building and civil works have been completed and the machinery has also been procured.
