Rashakai SEZ To Make KP Hub Of Investment, Bolster Industrialization: Experts

Rashakai Special Economic Zone, (RSEZ), a flagship project of KP Economic Zone Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC) will make Pakistan especially Khyber Pakthunkhwa a hub of local and foreign investment

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th May, 2021 ) :Rashakai Special Economic Zone, (RSEZ), a flagship project of KP Economic Zone Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC) will make Pakistan especially Khyber Pakthunkhwa a hub of local and foreign investment.

While talking to APP on Friday, Project Director (KPEZDMC) Javed Khattak said that it will promote industrialization and generate over two lakh jobs for youth.

"The construction activities on commercial scale at RSEZ has formally started after commercial launch of RSPEZ by Prime Minister Imran Khan today," he said.

He said commercial activities in large scale was being started with investment of China's Century Steel Mill (STM) that was being constructed on about 40 acres of land at RSEZ," he said, adding all essential services including gas, roads and electricity were provided to RSEZ.

He informed that RSEZ was a three- years project that would be developed on 1,000 acres in three different phases, adding that total area designated for Industrial use is 702 acres and as per Federal SEZ Areas Regulations, of which 159 acres would be developed in Phase I, 279 acres in Phase II and 264 acres in Phase III besides 76 acres land was allocated for commercial use.

In the first phase, industries related to textile, garments, home building materials, general merchandise, electronics, mines and minerals, electrical appliances, automobile, mechanical equipment and food processing plants would be set up at RSEZ and at later stages more industries would be included to gain maximum capital, he added.

He said the project's groundbreaking was scheduled on November 18 last but was postponed due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Khattak said foreign investors from brotherly countries of Turkey and Afghanistan had also shown keen interest in RSEZ.

Professor Economics Department University of Swabi, Muhammad Naeemtold APP that RSEZ was a significant project towards promotion of the SMEs sector that would make KP a hub of trade and investment.

He said RSEZ would prove as business and trade gateway among Pakistan, Afghanistan and CARs.

The project would immensely help increase trade volume among Pakistan, CARs, Afghanistan, middle East and China besides trade activities with EU, African and Eastern South countries would jack up after start of full fledged operation of Gwadar sea port, construction of ML-I and Khyber Pass Economic Highway Corridor (KPEHC), he said.

He said most of modern SEZs in developed countries employ advanced technologies like robots, artificial intelligence and 3D printing and special courses in our polytechnic educational institutes should be introduced to take full advantage of SEZs.

The establishment of academia industry linkages and campuses of engineering universities in premises of SEZs would significantly help open new avenues of research and provide work experience to our students in fields of engineering, IT, industries, business, economics and human resource management, he said.

Special Assistant to CM KP for Industries, Karim Khan said RSEZs offer great opportunity to domestic and foreign enterprisers, businessmen, entrepreneurs and investors besides expatriates Pakistanis to invest and earn capital profits in short time in a competitive and business friendly environment in Pakistan with around 210 million massive population.

He said KP is blessed with plenty of resources including fruits, leather, marble, gems, textile, sports, arms manufacturing, gemstones, livestock, dairy, fish farming, furniture wood, carpets, pharmaceuticals, transport, engineering and food sectors and if these processing plants were established on quality standards at RSEZ can significantly enhance the country's exports besides increasing trade with Afghanistan, CARs and Gulf.

Karim Khan said an announcement regarding provision of jobs by the government was being fulfilled as RSEZ alone was expected to create over two lakh employment opportunities for youth.

He said groundbreaking of Nowshera Economic Zone Extension Project on 76 acres land has been performed that would generate over 20,000 direct jobs for youth besides attracting Rs1.6 billion investment.