Sindh CM approves setting up of two SEZs

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has approved the establishment of two Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the private and public sectors and has decided to hand over the possession for formally launching the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone, near Karachi.

The chief minister, while presiding over the third board meeting of the Special Economic Zone Authority (SEZA), Sindh, approved two applications under which two SEZs would be established.

Of these, one will be the Services SEZ, for which Services Industries Limited has collaborated for setting up a mega-production facility for the manufacturing of tyres to meet demand of the domestic market as well as export to overseas markets.

The project cost is estimated at around $250 million and the targeted production capacity is 2.4 million tyres per annum. It will be set up on land measuring 50 acres in SITE Nooriabad, Sindh.

The project will export around 85% of the total production capacity to countries around the world.

During the meeting, Shah was informed about the SEZ status for the Naushahro Feroze Industrial Park, which was primarily based on agro-food and was being developed in Naushahro Feroze district.

The purpose of establishing the industrial park is to excel in agro-based industrialisation in the province as per international standards. The zone will cater to trade and industrialisation needs of the country. It will be established over 80 acres. Furthermore, the chief minister endorsed the application seeking SEZ status for the Bholari SEZ, Pakistan’s first private sector SEZ, situated at Bholari in Thatta district on the M-9 Motorway (Karachi-Hyderabad).

Its objective is to promote industrialisation, which will positively contribute to strengthening the economy of Sindh as well as Pakistan. It will be established over an area of 282.5 acres with investment of over Rs20 billion.

Chairing another meeting, the chief minister directed the Board of Revenue (BoR) to hand over possession of 1,535 acres of land to the Dhabeji SEZ so that its development process could be started.

The Sindh government has allocated 1,530 acres of land, which is being developed as the Dhabeji SEZ in Thatta near Karachi - a priority project under CPEC that will facilitate potential investors of China and other countries to either start new enterprises or transfer their facilities to Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2020.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.