ISLAMABAD, Jun 10 (APP): The Federal Board of Investment
(BOI) has approved Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status for the
three industrial estates in Punjab.
The three industrial estates include Quaid-e-Azam Apparel Park located at M-2 (Lahore-Islamabad Motorway) at a distance of 2 km from Shiekhupura Interchange, M3 Industrial City located on Trade Corridor of Pakistan, along Motorway M-3 South near Sahianwala Interchange, 20 km from Faisalabad and Value Addition City (VAC), a 225 acre facility located about 20 km from Faisalabad city and 1.5 km off Sheikhupura-
Faisalabad Expressway.
According to a statement issued here on Friday, the Federal BOI gave SEZ status to these Industrial Estates at a meeting held at the Board office here on Thursday.
The meeting was chaired by Miftah Ismail, Chairman BOI, whereas, Azher Ali Chaudhry, Secretary BOI, representatives from Provincial Investment Boards, Special Economic Zone Authorities, Chambers of Commerce, Fata, and various ministries were also present in the meeting.
The CEO PBIT stated “It is that first time in the history of Punjab that Industrial Estate have been given the SEZ status and these SEZs will prove to be a milestone towards industrialization of the province, these SEZs are estimated to have a turnover of more than Rs 1 trillion to our economy and guarantee over 2,000,000 jobs”.
These special economic zones would be completed by 2018-19 and would help attract foreign direct investment due to attractive investment friendly policies and tax breaks; they would offer numerous benefits to zone enterprises including 10-year income tax holiday and one time duty free on import of capital goods in the SEZ.
Industries operating in the SEZs would have an immediate access to high-quality infrastructure, un-interrupted power supply, public facilities and support services along with simpler business and establishment rules and expedited administration.
