Daily Times

Sindh government to launch Dhabeji Special Economic Zone- a CPEC priority project aimed at attracting foreign direct investment, promotion of industrialisation and creation of employment opportunities- on Saturday, said Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon.

Addressing a press briefing along with Special Assistant to Chief Minister Sindh for Investment and Public Private Partnership projects Syed Qasim Naveed Qamar here on Friday, Sharjeel Memon said that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah will perform the groundbreaking of the project. He said that the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone (DSEZ) is offering 10 year tax holiday to local and foreign investors intending to set up industries in the zone while they would enjoy tax exemptions on the import of plants and machinery as well.

The information minister informed that DSEZ is a priority project under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and it is being developed in Sindh province under Public Private Partnership mode through an international competitive bidding process. The zone is expected to attract foreign direct investment of around $ 5 billions and create more than 150,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities, he anticipated adding that investors who wanted to exploit the lucrative opportunity being offered were already in contact with the concerned authorities.

Sharjeel Memon termed it as a momentous development for Pakistan and the entire region in terms of industrialisation and investment and said that DSEZ could play a significant role in stabilizing the economy particularly in the current economic situation of the country. He said that PPP Sindh government was offering lucrative incentives to investors for luring in foreign investment and for the promotion of business and industrial activities in the province.

Thar Coal projects were a remarkable example of that which not only brought in precious foreign investment and created enormous job opportunities but those were also contributing much-needed power generation at the low cast, he noted. SACM Qasim Naveed Qamar while giving details of the project informed that DSEZ was being developed with an estimated cost of Rs.24 billion over an area of 1530 acres of land. He said that the project has distinctive features like proximity to sea port, major highways and main railway line and availability of cheaper labour as well as utilities like electricity, natural gas and water.

Sindh has become power house of Pakistan with the largest share in electricity generation, he observed adding that Sindh government was vying to make the DSEZ a green energy zone by provision of electricity from renewable sources of energy like wind and solar power.

He said that skill development was another aspect of the project and a technical and vocational training centre will also be established in the zone to train the local labour in required fields. CEO Sindh Economic Zones Management Company Abdul Azeem Uqaili informed that Sindh government had proposed three important projects- i.e. DSEZ, Keti Bandar port and KCR- to JCC of CPEC in 2018. DSEZ was the largest Public Private Partnership mode project being carried out in Pakistan, he added.

Chairman ZKBDMC, developer of Dhabeji Industrial Zone, Muhabat Khan at the occasion said that it was a unique project owing to its geographical location as a port, airport, highways and main railway line were at a short distance from it. He hoped that the project would play a pivotal role in stabilising the national economy.