The Khyber Pakthunkhwa Government has planned establishment of a marble city in Buner district to fully exploit the rich mineral potential of marble resources and enhance income of people associated with marble sector.

The government has allocated Rs100 million for this gigantic project in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) 2013-14 against total cost of Rs300 million, official sources in Mineral Department told APP on Wednesday.

He said the need for a centralised and secure industrial city to accommodate the large number of marble factories in Buner is being strongly demanded by local factory owners.

He said Buner is famous countrywide for its quality marble, which represents 51 percent of the country's production. Of the 700 marble factories located in Malakand Division, 500 are in Buner alone, while raw material to all factories is also provided from this small mountain valley.

The government has also planned rehabilitation, improvement and modernization of Industrial Estate Peshawar and Hattar while land would be purchased for Industrial Estate of Chitral to bolster economic and business activities in Khyber Pakthunkhwa.

Apart from master planning, designing and development of Industrial Estate Nowshera on Motorway, the government has also planned to establish industrial estates management company to regulate, streamline and provide better services to investors.

The company would be setup with an estimated cost of Rs200 million while work on this project would hopefully start in current fiscal year for which Rs100 million are allocated in the ADP 2013-14.

The government has also planned Sarhad Development Authority Complex at Industrial Estate Jmarud Peshawar. The official said these projects would help enhance the income of local communities and save waste of marble.