The development of Rashakai SEZ, which was commercially launched on May 28, 2021, is in progress at a steady pace.
The construction of industrial units is going on including Century Steel, which is a Chinese-owned conglomerate and will be a state-of-the-art steel manufacturing facility.
Besides, 11 enterprises have been allotted land stretching over an area of 42 acres to establish industrial units with expected investment of Rs11.826 billion and 2,500 employment opportunities in the SEZ, K-P Board of Investment and Trade CEO Hassan Daud Butt revealed in a recent interview.
He added that the construction of the SEZ would take six to seven years and it would be done in three phases.
Provision of electricity to the zone has also been planned in three phases. In phase one, 10 megawatts were provided in September 2020. In phase two, 160MW would be provided and 90% of work had been completed and in phase three, 50MW would be provided.
The gas requirement of the zone is 30 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), which has also been approved by the federal government and the laying of a gas transmission line was completed in December 2021.
Butt added that the external road network, including provision of utilities, was moving as per schedule.
Chinese state-owned enterprise China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) is actively involved in its marketing to develop the SEZ. The investment plan is focused on high-tech, export-led industries that can add value to the local natural resources and food industry.
Rashakai SEZ is a flagship industrial project of the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
The SEZ is ideally located on the M1 motorway and spread over an area of more than 1,000 acres. It is also called Gwadar of the north as it connects Pakistan to neighbouring countries, presenting significant opportunities for both local and international companies to come and establish their industrial setups.
“The location and management strategy makes it a suitable investment initiative. This, coupled with the incentives and tax holidays, gives a suitable platform to invest and benefit from the zone,” he emphasised.
Butt stated that the SEZ can largely enhance Pakistan-Afghanistan trade volume with export-led manufacturing industrial units being established at the SEZ.
THE ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED ON THE CHINA ECONOMIC NET
Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2022.
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