Daily Times

Bannu Economic Zone (BEZ) is near completion as 80% of construction work has been completed on the project and the remaining work will complete soon.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KP-EZDMC), Javed Iqbal Khattak said while talking to APP here on Wednesday.

Enveloping the vast land of 408 acres, Bannu Economic Zone is geographically located in close proximity to districts Lakki Marwat, North Waziristan, Karak and D.I.Khan. Construction work on road infrastructure, water supply, and boundary wall and security gate has been completed. He said that as many as 260 industrial units will be established in the economic zone wherein over 25000 youth of the districts Bannu, Karak, Lakki Marwat and North Waziristan would be provided employment.

The zone is specified for mineral and agricultural sector units especially chromites, copper and PVC pipe manufacturing units. With 80.5% literacy rate of Bannu Division, the zone has the potential to set the fast growth trajectory of the district ablaze with provision of skilled labour from native population of 1.2 million. BEZ holds an anchoring ability for foreign investment in the division, which will not only boost the economy of Bannu rather also the surrounding districts of Lakki Marwat, Karack and Waziristan. He said that the proximity of the Indus Expressway with BEZ also adds a better deal of value to the strategic importance of the economic zone connecting his part of the region with Afghanistan through the Ghulam Khan border. He said that provision of developed land, integrated infrastructure, business friendly environment for sustainable industrial growth, process innovation according to international standards and dedicated facilitation office at the zone are key features of the Bannu Economic Zone.

The zone has an easy access via N-55 highway and N-5 Bannu link road to make it an ideal vantage point for investors from Peshawar, D.I. Khan and Divisions, whose accessibility will be further enhanced after the construction of the western route of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Target markets of the industrial products from Bannu Economic Zone can potentially be in high demand at local markets of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asian States.