Thatta Cement Company Limited (THCCL) has announced a strategic partnership to assemble Belarus tractors in Balochistan.
Thatta Cement Company Limited (THCCL) has taken an unconventional leap into Pakistan’s agricultural machinery market, announcing plans to assemble Belarus-brand tractors in Balochistan in collaboration with OJSC Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ) — one of Belarus’s largest state-owned manufacturers.
In a formal disclosure to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the cement producer said it has formed a wholly owned subsidiary, Minsk Work Tractor & Assembling (Private) Limited (MWTA), which has been granted exclusive rights to assemble and locally produce BELARUS tractors in the province.
According to the company, the project will establish a local tractor assembly facility in Balochistan, aiming to drive industrial diversification, job creation, and technology transfer in a region where large-scale non-mining industries remain scarce.
“This initiative represents a strategic step to diversify the Thatta Cement Group’s business portfolio while supporting local industrial growth,” the company said in its statement to PSX.
The move underscores a broader trend of corporate diversification in Pakistan’s industrial sector, but Thatta Cement’s venture into heavy machinery is particularly noteworthy given its potential geopolitical and economic dimensions. For Balochistan — often on the margins of national industrial policy — the establishment of a tractor assembly line signals a rare instance of manufacturing-led investment.
The timing also aligns with Pakistan’s ongoing struggle to modernize its agriculture sector, where tractor demand remains deeply linked to weather cycles, farm credit access, and mechanization policy shifts. Local production of BELARUS tractors could help address these challenges while embedding new technical skills and supply chain capacity in the province.
If successfully implemented, Thatta Cement’s diversification could mark a turning point for industrial activity in Balochistan, expanding the province’s economic base beyond extractive industries and public-sector projects.
