Powering SEZ: SNGL seeks Rs839 million for the provision of gas to Allama Iqbal Industrial City (AIIC)

ISLAMABAD: Sui Northern Gas Company Limited (SNGPL) has sought Rs839 million for the provision of gas to first notified Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in its estimated revenue requirement (ERR) for financial year 2020-21. The SNGPL will provide 40mmcfd gas to Allama Iqbal Industrial City (AIIC) which is the largest among SEZs in terms of area with 3,217 acres.

The Allama Iqbal SEZ has advantage for being adjacent to M3-Industrial city, which comprises of a large number of projects including textile, pharmaceuticals, information technology, chemicals automotive, service complex, etc. Land has been acquired for the AIIC, and construction work is in progress since November, 2019.

Utilities provision in the Allama Iqbal SEZ will be completed in phases to be covered in year 2020, 2021, and 2022. Standard size of plot is minimum one acre available for investors in all prioritised SEZs. Faisalabad Industrial Estate and Management Company (FIEDMC) is the developing body of Allama Iqbal SEZ.

A number of national and international companies have expressed their interest to start business units within the AIIC. On Thursday, Advisor to the Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood instructed line ministries to expedite the process of utilities’ provision to the SEZ.

He expressed these views, while chairing a meeting at the Board of Investment (BoI), Islamabad to review work progress on CPEC zones including Rashakai, Dabiji, Allama Iqbal Industrial City, Faisalabad, and others. The progress on this front had been minimal. But since the last few months, the SEZs are back in business, with significant developments.

Apart from the AIIC Free Zone, a total of nine SEZs are planned under the CPEC, including the three priority SEZs in Sindh, Punjab, and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

In October 2020, Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed that the provision of utilities such as gas, electricity in the SEZs should be accorded foremost priority by the concerned departments.

In this connection, Pakistan and China signed the Development Agreement for the first China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)’s Rashakai Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

The SEZ Act 2012, under Section-13, binds together the Federation (BOI), the province and SEZ developer through an agreement for the successful establishment and development of an SEZ, aptly termed “Development Agreement”.

This agreement provides the roadmap for the establishment of an SEZ, while holding the federal and provincial governments as well as the developer jointly responsible for the development and successful operations of an SEZ.