Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved the four economic zones to acquire the status of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). The approval was given during the maiden meeting of the Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, held at the CM house, with objective to accelerate the industrialization process in the province.
The purpose of the meeting was to appoint the members of SEZA KP and approval of the Economic Zones to be forwarded to Federal government for acquiring SEZ status. Subsequently Hattar, Jalozai, Ghazi and Rashakai Economic Zones that are to be developed by KPEZDMC were approved to acquire the status of Special Economic Zone. This is a pivotal role of the Government to enhance industrialisation. The meeting told that the aims of the zones include, increasing trade, job creation and effective administration of the industries. SEZ status will grant the industrialists investing in the Economic Zones a number of benefits. In the meeting, it was stated that the benefits under the SEZ law to be provided to all the industrialists investing in the Economic Zones developed by KPEZDMC include a one-time exemption from customs duties and taxes for all capital goods imported into Pakistan for the development and exemption from all taxes on income for a period of 10 years, immediate access to high-quality infrastructure, uninterrupted power supply, public facilities, and support services to all the industrialists investing. The meeting was attended by the honourable Chief Minister of KP; Pervaiz Khattak; Ghulam Dastagir, Chairman SEZA KP, Mohsin M Syed; Chief Executive Officer Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development & Management Company (KPEZDMC), Secretary Industries and Sectary P&D, KP along with other relevant officials. Ghulam Dastagir was appointed as the Chairman SEZA and advisor to CM on Industries Adbdul Karim khan as vice Chairman in 2015.
Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a blanket term for various types of specialized zones with specific types of enterprises operating in a well-defined geographic area where certain economic activities are promoted by a set of policy measures that are not generally applicable to the rest of the country.