CPEC Projects: SEZA Chairman Provides Economic Zones Update

News sources say that on December 26, Chairman of the Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA) S.M. Naveed gave an update on the development of economic zones during a meeting at the office. According to the head of the authority, five of the nine Special Economic Zones (SEZs) chosen for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are being built.

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The SEZA chairman said that the Allama Iqbal Industrial City in Faisalabad, Punjab, the Rashakai SEZ in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Dhabeji SEZ in Sindh, and the Boston SEZ in Balochistan are all under-developed economic zones. It was also pointed out that the first phase of the Gwadar Free Zone, which covers 60 acres, is done and fully operational, while the second phase, which covers 2,200 acres, is still being built.

During the meeting, it was also made clear that most of the upcoming CPEC projects will be in the textile, IT, agriculture, science, and mining sectors. This will help Pakistan become less dependent on imports and increase its exports.

The head of SEZA also said that all of the notified economic zones in the country take up about 10,029.64 acres of industrial land, of which 5,220.62 acres have been given to investors who plan to invest PKR 633.9 billion in the industrial sector. The foreign direct investment (FDI) part of this amount is 43.6%. (USD 1.73 billion).