Government expedites development of SEZs under CPEC

ISLAMABAD-Prime Minister’s Office, Board of Investment (BOI), has notified Special Economic Zones (SEZ) status for Allama Iqbal Industrial City and allowed sale of plots in three different SEZs including Allama Iqbal Industrial City (AIIC), Hub and Bostan. The BOI, being the secretariat for the apex SEZ’s approving body (Board of Approval), has issued the notification. The notification in this regard for AIIC was issued by the Secretary BOI, Ms Fareena Mazhar being secretary of the Board of Approval for SEZs.

The government further chartered 03 SEZs Committees of AIIC, Bostan and Hub SEZs, allowing thereby the sale of plots in the respective SEZs. The SEZ committees shall have responsibilities to administer and enforce SEZ benefits and rules as well as provide facilitation between the SEZ, its enterprises and the government.

Minister of State/Chairman Board of Investment (BOI), Atif R. Bokhari, in a statement, here expressed satisfaction over the progress on SEZs’ development. He said that it is high time for all of us to tap the opportunities being provided by Belt & Road Initiative in the shape of Industrial Cooperation (IC) under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He pointed out that private sector should come forward and take the leading role in this second phase of CPEC. He appreciated Project Management Unit BOI on CPEC-IC for its role in ensuring a teamwork of the federal and provincial governments which helped in removing hurdles that were hindering the progress on SEZs.

Secretary BOI, Ms. Fareena Mazhar has termed the day as a special day in the journey of SEZ’s development. She stated that establishment of the new SEZs would help to achieve the goals of industrialization such as capitalizing investment inflow, inclusive economic development, creation of jobs and export generation. She informed that serious efforts for provision of gas and electricity are underway to ensure provision of these basic utilities alongside development of the new SEZs.

The Allama Iqbal Industrial City Faisalabad is being developed by Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) with total area of 2800 acres by targeting to establish industries in textile; engineering; electrical and electronics; chemical paints; agriculture and food processing; steel and packaging sectors. It is expected that the zone will help to create 249,477 direct and indirect jobs for local population besides attracting domestic and foreign investment upto the tune of Rs357 billion.

September 12, 2020: Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque has invited Chinese businessmen to take advantage of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) being set up under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Pakistan has identified nine special economic zones and three of them are now in advanced stage of preparation. “We are going to share all the details very soon,” he said in an interview with Economic Daily-China Economic Net (CEN).

Pakistan has been committed to building industrial clusters in recent years to improve its ability to undertake the relocation of Chinese industries. Chinese companies have also been paying continuous attention to the implementation of preferential policies in Pakistan’s special economic zones.

In this regard, Haque said, “We have learned a lot from the Chinese experience of developing special economic zones.” Talking about China-Pakistan trade relations during the COVID-19 pandemic, he pointed out: “First of all, we are very happy that China has posted a very positive and more than 3% growth in the second quarter. Despite the pandemic, the first quarter of this year we saw our bilateral trade increase.”

In this second quarter, there was a little dip because of the disruption of international travel. The updated FTA is very important. Over 300 items are now enjoying duty-free access to each other countries, including fisheries and pharmaceuticals. “So there are many opportunities for the traders of the two countries to work in this area. We hope that in the months and years to come, our trade will increase from our previous figures,” he said.

Talking about his experience in the first month of his new duty, Ambassador Haque first mentioned the second strategic dialogue between China and Pakistan which was held in August in south China’s Hainan Province. “While thanking China for its very valuable support to us during the pandemic, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi appreciated the announcement made by Chinese President Xi Jinping that whenever a vaccine is developed, it would be considered a public good.” Regarding the ML-1 railway a multiplier effect for the Phase II of CPEC, he said, the spectrum of Pakistan-China relationship is very broad and very deep, adding, “We cooperate in all areas from defense to security, from trade to investment, culture, education, science and technology, agriculture, and tourism. CPEC is a very important element of our relationship. The industrial development cooperation of phase two is also in sync with the social-economic development agenda of our current government. So these will be very important areas that I’ll be working on during my term.”

The ambassador said Diamer-Bhasha Dam is also as part of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision, to provide a clean and affordable energy to our country. “And we are very grateful to Chinese companies for taking a lead in the construction of this dam. ML-1 is the largest project on the CPEC. It is a very important project for both Pakistan and China. It will help to provide very economical and efficient inland travel in Pakistan. I think it will also be very important as a multiplier effect for the phase II of CPEC,” he added.

After fully expressing the necessity of agricultural modernization, Ambassador Haque introduced Pakistan’s industry and service industry. “Like China and many other countries, our work and life were also affected by the COVID-19. There were new ideas, new concepts and new products. “Another area is automobile industry. China and Pakistan are working together to make new brand automobiles. Many Pakistani fashion products are very popular in the world. Our IT applications are very popular. A company like NetSol has a sizable business in China. Pakistan is the 3rd or 4th largest country in milk production. We are making new investments in value-added products such as cheese, butter, yogurt and others. We hope that more Chinese investors can come to Pakistan in this field.”