Four new industrial zones to be established in K-P

Work will begin in October this year

PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s newly-established Economic Zone Development and Management Company (EZDMC) announced it will set up four new industrial estates. Work on the industrial estate swill begin in October this year.

The cost

The new industrial estates are Hattar Industrial Estate Phase VII, Ghazi Industrial Estate, Jalozai Industrial Estate and Rashakai Industrial Estate. For HIE Phase VII, Rs400 million has already been approved in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) while the remaining amount, say officials, will be generated through sales of plots.

HIE Phase VII will also come under the Pak-China Economic Corridor project, thereby increasing financial benefits, an official said. Some 424 acres of land worth Rs379 million have been acquired to set it up with the infrastructure cost coming up to more than Rs1.1 billion.

The GIE will be built on 89 acres of land. Meanwhile the JIE will be constructed on 257 acres of land and the RIE will be set up on 100 acres of land that have already been acquired.

The benefits

“It is now time the industrial sector is handed over to people with expertise in the area,” Ghulam Dastagir, the Chairman of the board that will run the affairs of the new company, said. He was talking to the media at a local hotel in the city on Tuesday. Dastagir said a pool of talented industrialists has been selected to run the company and industrialise the province.

According to a survey conducted by the government, a total of 487 industrial units have closed down in the province. However, there are still some 2,200 units existing that have the potential to generate 100,000 plus jobs in the province. Some of the main reasons behind their inactivity include the lack of steady supply of electricity and gas, the law and order situation of the region and a lack of professionals.

“However,” Dastagir said, “there are many pro’s that may prove to be of interest to investors.” He said the federal government has exempted K-P industries from paying taxes for the next five years. “There is also an exemption on income tax, customs duty and turnover taxes, which has the potential to attract traders from across the country to the province.”

Unlike the old industrial estates in the province, the upcoming ones will have their own boards of management.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2015.