By Minahil
Makhdoom
ISLAMABAD: Chairman China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Lt. Gen (R) Asim Saleem Bajwa on Monday said the development work on Allama Iqbal Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Faisalabad was in full swing and so far 33 percent land had been purchased by 69 investors.
The total sale-able land in Allama Iqbal Special Economic Zone was 2,276 acres, the Chairman CPEC Authority said in a tweet. He added that 182 acres of land was purchased by 07 foreign investors. He further said that several Pakistani and foreign industries have started construction work in Special Economic Zone.
Meanwhile, the Board of Investment (BoI) said on Monday afternoon that four SEZs, being developed at a fast pace, would create as many as 1.47 million jobs besides playing an important role in promoting local industry to lead the country towards sustainable economic growth. “The four SEZs including Rashakai M-1 Nowshera, Dhabeji Thatta, Allama Iqbal Industrial City Faisalabad and Bostan Balochistan would create around 475,000 direct and 1,000,000 indirect jobs all across the country,” said a BoI official.
The SEZs, which are part of the CPEC, would promote overall industrial growth in the country, adding that development of these four zones was the top priority of the government.
The 1000-acre Rashkai Economic Zone has attracted more than 2,000 domestic and foreign investments in different sectors of the economy, hence promoting rapid industrialization.
The Rashakai Special Economic Zone is connected to all the provinces of Pakistan through airports, dry ports, railway stations, motorways and highways. The zone is located at the confluence of the five major districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Nowshera, Mardan and Swabi, Charsadda and Peshawar. The SEZ would cover more than 400 industries, including garments and textile products, home appliances, general commercial goods, electronics and electrical appliances, automobiles and mechanical equipment.
