Rashkai SEZ welcomes first foreign firm

In a major development in the industrialisation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Committee on Friday approved the first-ever allotment of land to a foreign company in the Rashkai, the Board of Investment (BoI) said in a statement on Friday.

The committee has approved the allotment of 40 acres of land to the Century Steel (Pvt) Ltd. The company is owned by the Fuzhou Julitaihe International Company of China, which is involved in steel and iron production and sales business.

The Fuzhou Juliethai also owns steel mills in Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Ethiopia. Its iron and steel production capacity is more than 3 billion tons. The statement said that the Century Steel planned to invest $50 million.

“Today is a historic day in terms of industrial development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as a Chinese company has joined the Special Economic Zones of Rashkai as a foreign firm,” the statement said. “It will provide employment to 1,000 people.”

The Rashkai SEZ is being established under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The zone is expected to provide employment to more than 200,000 people. The statement said that hundreds of applications had been received so far, for setting up industries in the SEZ.

Due to its geographical location, the Rashkai SEZ will be the hub of South Asian trade activities and will contribute to the development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.