By Ayesha Saba

ISLAMABAD, August 2, (INP-WealthPK): Pakistan has been setting up special economic zones (SEZs) all over the country to promote industrialisation, enhance exports and create employment opportunities, WealthPK reports.

The main purpose of SEZs, being established under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is to attract domestic and international investment and build industrial infrastructure that will lead to the enhancement of exports, substitution of imports, transfer of technology and creation of jobs. Keeping in view the importance of SEZs, both China and Pakistan are striving for speedy completion of the zones.

“Throughout the world, SEZs have been an important instrument for attracting investment and have therefore become an integral part of industrial policies,” Dr. Liaqat Ali Shah, the executive director and head of the Policy Division at the CPEC Authority told WealthPK. He added that the second phase of CPEC was smoothly initiated.

“It is important to make the SEZs competitive to attract investors. The Ministry of Planning will devise a comprehensive strategy and issue a policy statement describing special incentives and facilities being offered at SEZs to entice investment from China,” he said. He added that special incentives like tax rebates could result in reducing the cost of doing business in the SEZs.

Dr. Liaqat said that the Rashakai Special Economic Zone in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was likely to become operational in October of the current year as its energy supply requirements were already met. “The Rashakai Special Economic Zone will set a new benchmark for cordial interactions between Pakistan and China. Having world-class industrial infrastructure, the project will lead to increase in economic activities and create employment opportunities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he added.

He said that the SEZs initiative was a step in the right direction toward the goal of developed Pakistan. “To ensure that these SEZs are a successful tool for promoting industrialisation in the country, it is pertinent to examine both methods and techniques tried out in other countries as they enter the development phase,” he added.

He said that CPEC was built on a massive infrastructure platform to ensure regional connectivity. In order to attract investment from all over the world, both countries, China and Pakistan, will effectively promote these SEZs. The CPEC initiative will benefit not only China and Pakistan but also Iran, Afghanistan and India besides other countries in the region.

Dr. Liaqat said that Pakistan wanted to encourage business-to-business (B2B) cooperation. In order to give investors a direct venue to generate joint venture ideas, a business forum was developed under the Board of Investment. The inclusion of Pakistani exporters in the global supply chain is another goal of this project.

“The Chinese economic model has taught us to continue investing in industrial clusters and economic zones to achieve significant economic development goals. Pakistan has learned recently to follow this Chinese economic growth model and has started taking initiatives to develop SEZs in the backdrop of CPEC,” he told WealthPK.

Credits: Independent News Pakistan—Wealthpk