The Board of Investment (BoI) announced on Friday that the colonization of Allama Iqbal Industrial City in Faisalabad, the second special economic zone (SEZ) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, has begun with a planned investment of Rs53.6 billion. Colonization is a technical term which means investors have started setting up their units in the industrial zone.
The application for zone enterprise entry and allotment of land were submitted and processed via SEZ’s MIS Module designed by the BoI recently. The module ensures transparency and facilitation and works as a one window operation, a vision of the government to ensure ease of doing business.
Along with the allotment of land, these enterprises are now entitled to benefits offered to these zones, including custom duties and tax exemption under the SEZ Act 2012.
BoI Secretary Fareena Mazhar said that international investors could easily avail the opportunity to identify and select the potential locations for setting up their units in the SEZs. The applicants include a Chinese firm Zhengbang Agriculture Pakistan (Private) Limited with a plan Rs800 million investment in the agriculture sector.
Among others, fourteen local firms, Zahid Jee Textile Mills, Ocean Ceramics, and Ittehad Metals are to initiate business establishments worth Rs11.8bn, Rs11.2bn and Rs7.5bn, respectively.
BoI Chairman Atif Bokhari, while appreciating the development, said the automation process of SEZs, envisioned by the prime minister, is now bearing fruit. The SEZ MIS Module was approved to facilitate investors to gain admission in zones and ensure transparency in allocation of plots in various SEZs.
