ISLAMABAD-Bestway Cement Limited, Pakistan’s largest cement producer, has achieved yet another milestone. The company has commenced production and despatches of cement at its greenfield plant in District Mianwali. The plant is Bestway’s 8th production line with an annual production capacity of 2.3 million tonnes of cement. The state-of–the-art and most environmentally friendly plant has its own Waste Heat Recovery Power Plant of 9 MWs and 20 MWs of Solar Power generation thereby meeting more than half of its energy requirement through green and renewable means.
Bestway being the leader in water conservation was the first in the country to employ the Air Cooled Condenser (ACC) Systems, and the Mianwali plant too has its own ACC system. This, alongwith rain-harvesting, should enable the plant to eliminate its reliance on ground water for industrial use. A simple ceremony was held at the plant premises to celebrate the occasion which was attended by the Chairman, Bestway Group, Sir Mohammed Anwar Pervez OBE HPk, the Group’s CEO, Lord Zameer M. Choudrey CBE SI Pk, the Group’s Director Finance, the Honourable Haider Choudrey, Managing Director Bestway Group Pakistan, Mr. Irfan Sheikh, the company’s senior officials and delegates from the plant suppliers, Sinoma.
Lord Choudrey unveiled the commemorative plaque to mark the commencement of cement production at the Mianwali plant. Speaking on the occasion, Lord Choudrey said: “It’s a great day for the company. Our new greenfield production line at Mianwali has been set up in a record time despite various hurdles and supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19. By virtue of Mianwali plant, Bestway now has an annual capacity of 15.3 million tonnes of cement based on 300 production days. This makes Bestway by far the largest cement producer in the country. I congratulate the entire Bestway team as this remarkable achievement and continued success would not have been possible without their hardwork and commitment to excellence, especially our senior team most of who have been with the company since our journey began. I am grateful to all our suppliers and contractors, particularly Sinoma, for working tirelessly to complete the plant in record time”.
Shedding light on Bestway’s CSR activities, he informed the audience that Bestway was one of the top ten CSR spenders in Pakistan. The Group’s charitable arm, Bestway Foundation, had spent more than Rs. 1 billion in just last 3 years on various social causes, particularly education.
In addition to providing substantial financial assistance and scholarships to some of the best educational and health care institutions around the country, the Foundation is running two schools in Chakwal and Farooqia for boys and girls and a girls’ college where more than 1,600 students are getting quality education free of cost; another two schools in Kallar Kahar and Hattar will start functioning from next month while construction of another three purpose-built schools in Hattar, Farooqia and Mianwali will commence very soon. Bestway also runs free medical centres at all of its production facilities which provide free basic healthcare facilities to more than 20,000 patients annually.
Lord Choudrey reiterated Bestway Group’s commitment towards economic and social development of Pakistan and highlighted that Bestway Cement was one of the largest taxpayers in the country having contributed more than Rs. 251 billion to the exchequer in direct and indirect taxes since its inception. He highlighted that the company was providing direct employment to nearly 5,000 families and generated indirect employment for another almost 50,000 families. Bestway would continue to grow and play its role as a key contributor in building a stronger and prosperous Pakistan.