Federal Minister for Board of Investment (including Chinese & other FDI) and Special Initiatives, Chaudhary Salik Hussain chaired the 8th meeting of the Board of Approvals (BOA) today in Prime Minister’s Office Islamabad.
Members of BOA from, Parliament, Federal Ministries, Provincial Governments, SBP, Provincial BOIs, FPCCI, Pakistan Business Council & senior officers including Secretary BOI Mr. Asad Rehman Gilani were in attendance.
In the meeting, six (6) zone applications for grant of SEZ status, from Government of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, were placed before the BOA for consideration.
After detailed deliberations and discussions the forum approved two (2) multi-industry and four (4) Sole enterprise SEZs. These included Challenge Fashion SEZ, Lahore, Punjab; IVI Junction SEZ, Rajanpur Punjab; Fatima Cement Limited, Dera Ismail Khan, KP; Premier Cement Limited, Dera Ismail Khan, KP PFB (Pvt) Limited, Thatta, Sindh; and Roshan Sun Tao Paper Mill (Pvt) Limited, Sheikhupura, Punjab. All six SEZs are private sector projects. The four (4) Sole Enterprise SEZs will together bring in infrastructure investments worth USD 540 Million.
It is significant to highlight that out of these 6 SEZ projects, 4 SEZs will be located in under-developed districts. As regards the other two, one is the first of its kind export oriented SEZ, whereas the other one is the first ever multi-industry Chinese SEZ project with 100% private investment.
Mr. Salik hoped that these newly approved SEZs will not only contribute towards industrialization but will also help in export generation and transfer of technology while creating job opportunities across the board.
BOA also gave approval for constitution of SEZ Committees for the newly approved zones that would enable their operationalization in an expeditious manner.
Minister Investment while chairing the meeting also emphasized on creation of a strong enforcement mechanism to ensure the commitments made by the promoters are adhered to and the investment is realized as per timelines.
It was apprised by the Secretary BOI that BOI is committed to provide patronage to the provincial SEZAs to enable them in better management on their part. He said that this forum has a huge responsibility to maintain a balance between regulation and promotion of investment.
BOA also examined the plot allotments earlier made to AOPs, individuals and sole proprietors in public sector SEZs of Punjab and advised the SEZA to regularize them on a case-to-case basis in favour of industrialization provided they meet the basic criteria for a zone enterprise and start construction within six months.
BOA also took exception to the unilateral price increases and disallowed price revisions that have not been supported by any business survey and endorsed by the respective provincial SEZA.
Federal Minister for Investment said that while finalizing the land pricing mechanisms for SEZs funding to the public sector developers should also be taken into account for sustainable development of SEZs.
The Board of Approvals reiterated that its meetings should be convened frequently so that high priority agenda can be dispensed with at the earliest. BOA also allowed the Secretary BOA to convene the meetings of the Approvals Committee to deal with the routine matters.
