Despite several announcements and ground breaking ceremonies not even a single Special Economic zone (SEZ) has been operationalized by the Board of Investment (BOI) under the current government.
An agreement between the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zone Development Management Company (KPEZDMC) and the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) for the development of Rashakai SEZ in Nowshera was signed on Nov 3, 2018 and the work on off-site infrastructure facilities for the project was scheduled to begin on Oct 31, 2018 but it has yet to start.
The BOI is focused on the development of three SEZs – Rashakai Economic Zone (KP), Special Economic Zone Dhabeji (Sindh) and Allama Iqbal Industrial City Faisalabad on priority basis. Development work on these SEZs is in progress but the pace is very slow.
Sources reveal that nine SEZs have been facing land acquisition, provision of utility services, security and other infrastructure issues.
These nine SEZs include: (1) Rashakai Comprehensive SEZ, Nowshera, KP, (2) Allama Iqbal Industrial City, Faisalabad, (3) China Special Economic Zone, Dhabeji Thatta, (4) IT Park, Islamabad, (5) Bostan Industrial Zone, Balochistan, (6) SEZ Port Qasim Karachi, (7) Moondash SEZ, Gilgit-Baltistan, (8) Mirpur SEZ, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and (9) Momand Marbel City, TATA.
