ISLAMABAD, May 15 (APP):Board of Investment (BoI) Chairman Haroon Sharif Wednesday said the investment board was fully concentrating to complete four Special Economic Zones (SEZS) related to 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 Faisalabad (Punjab) and Bostan Indusrial Zone (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 Director Shi Xiaobo had visited BoI to discuss the time lines to make it operational.
He said the Rashakai had a strategic significance as it was closer to Afghanistan and central Asian countries.
Discussing the importance of Rashakai, he said Chinese had termed it as a role model project for other SEZs.
He said Rashakai was Joint venture between the Chinese company CRBC and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government to provide the facility of ease of doing business.
The BoI was strengthening its capacity to have specific desks and teams to deal with investors from different countries, as well as to work on important assignments, including all SEZs, Haroon said.
He said during the meeting the CRBC delegation discussed incentive packages for the Rashakai Economic Zone for providing more modern and hi-tech facilities to the investors.
Replying to another question, he said all seven proposed SEZs would be completed in coming two years for promoting ease of doing business and to facilitate the local and foreign investors.
He said, “We will need to acquire 5,000 acres industrial land to complete all SEZs in the country for generating equal business opportunities in all regions.”
Replying to a question, he said SEZ in Hattar was also the priority of BoI, and informed that electricity issue halted the completion of economic zones and matters related to the electricity had been resolved from March 27, this year.
To a query regarding SEZ in Islamabad, he said engineering or information technology zones was in process and BoI had a plan to establish hi-tech zone in the federal capital.
He said the SEZ in capital city would be finalized in coming two week to initiate this project for completing in given time frame.
He said the BoI would initiate this project and “it would on the priority of government to complete this project within the given time frame for increasing business and investment opportunities and to generate maximum employment opportunities.
Replying to a question on the restoration of BoI, he said he was committed for enhancing the capacity of the institution. In this regards 12 units had been evolved for research and specialized approach to search the investment opportunities from different regions of the world.
He said the BoI was now focusing on ease of doing business, SEZs with China, foreign direct investment and policy reforms.
Therefore, housing and tourism units were also being established for enhancing investment in these potential sectors, he maintained.
