ISLAMABAD: The Chinese Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) on Friday informed the Board of Investment that the development of Rashakai Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was being carried out expeditiously and respective teams had already been mobilised for the purpose.

CRBC Vice President Sun Yaoguo during a meeting with Board of Investment (BoI) Chairman Atif Bokhari gave a briefing about the development progress and marketing plan for the Rashakai economic zone.

Mr Sun stressed the need for aggressive marketing of the SEZ before local and foreign investors for its speedy operationalisation.

With the standard of services combined with the attractive incentives offered by Pakistan, Rashakai has the potential to become a hub of economic activity. Besides, Rashakai SEZ is the flagship project of China-Pakistan Economic Corri­dor (CPEC) and its success will strengthen industrial cooperation between China and Pakistan, he said.

Mr Bokhari concurred with Mr Sun for following an aggressive marketing campaign which could highlight the monetary benefits for investors. In this regard, he said, the government had already approved two major incentives for SEZs in terms of custom and duty exemption on capital goods and elimination of 1.5 per cent turn-over tax. Domestic companies have shown keen interest in setting up enterprises in the Rashakai SEZ and desired that this should be looked into.

A BoI press release said that both sides also discussed the interest of Chinese enterprises in Rashakai. Mr Bokhari agreed to a CRBC suggestion aimed at effectively communicating with the Chinese business community about the incentives and sectors for investment.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2021