ISLAMABAD: Board of Investment (BoI) Chairman Haroon Sharif said onWednesday that the investment board is committed to completing four specialeconomic zones (SEZs) related to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) within six months.
These CPEC-related SEZs had been established in all four provinces,including Rashakai Economic Zone (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Dhabeji (Sindh),Allama Iqbal Industrial City in Faisalabad (Punjab) and Bostan IndusrialZone (Balochistan), he said while talking to APP.
Replying to a question regarding Rashakai Economic Zone, he said recently,a delegation of China Road and Bridge Cooperation (CRBC), led by DirectorShi Xiaobo, had visited BoI to discuss the timelines to make the economiczone operational.
He said Rashakai had a strategic significance as it was closer toAfghanistan and Central Asian countries.
Discussing the importance of Rashakai, Sharif said that the Chinese hadtermed it as a role model project for other SEZs.
He said Rashakai was a joint venture between the Chinese company CRBC andKhyber Pakhtunkhwa government aiming to provide the facility of ease ofdoing business in the area.
“The BoI is strengthening its capacity by establishing specific desks andteams to deal with investors from different countries, as well as to workon important assignments, including all SEZs,” Sharif added.
He said during the meeting, the CRBC delegation discussed the incentivepackages for Rashakai Economic Zone including the provision of modern andhi-tech facilities to the investors.
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Replying to another question, he said all seven proposed SEZs would becompleted in the next two years. The completion would promote ease of doingbusiness in the country and would facilitate the local and foreigninvestors, he added.
“We will need to acquire 5,000 acres of industrial land to complete allSEZs in the country in order to generate equal business opportunities forall,” he maintained.
Replying to a question, he said SEZ in Hattar was also a priority of BoI,adding that electricity issue had halted the completion of economic zonesbut matters in this regard had been resolved in March this year.
To a query regarding SEZ in Islamabad, he said the development ofengineering or information technology zones was in process in line with theboard’s plan to establish a hi-tech zone in the federal capital.
He said work on the SEZ in Islamabad would be finalized in the coming twoweeks and the project would be completed on time.
“Timely completion of the project would increase business and investmentopportunities, besides generating maximum employment opportunities.”
