Plans for Pakistan’s first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant got a boost with the announcement that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will provide up to $35 million in long-term capital financing to help establish the facility in Sheikhupura, Punjab.

Construction of the SAFCO Venture Holdings project is expected to begin in January, with an anticipated start of SAF production in September 2026.

Pakistan generates more than a million tons of used oils, fats, and greases annually, and the plant—the first of its kind in South Asia—is expected to convert 250,000 tons of it as a feedstock to produce 200,000 tons of SAF a year via the HEFA production pathway.

The facility will create more than 300 direct jobs as well as support an estimated 20,000 indirect jobs in the waste-to-fuel value chain.

“This initiative demonstrates how fuel production can be part of a circular economy, drawing from raw materials that would otherwise go to waste and, therefore, how it can be done with no adverse impact on food production or water supplies,” said Ashruf Megahed, IFC’s regional head for manufacturing, agribusiness, and services for the Middle East, Central Asia, Turkey, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. “As IFC’s first investment in sustainable aviation fuel production, it also sets the tone for similar IFC investments in this space, as well as for other financiers to follow suit.”