APD | Pakistan inaugurates special zone welcoming Chinese investments

By APD writer Muhammad Sohail

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday inaugurated a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the country’s eastern industrial district of Faisalabad with an aim to attract foreign investment, especially from China.

Addressing a ceremony after he performed the ground-breaking of the state-of-the-art Allama Iqbal Industrial City, the prime minister said that the country's Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will provide Chinese industries the requisite environment to relocate to Pakistan.

“There are many industries that wish to relocate from China but we had yet to provide them an ideal environment. This special economic zone is that environment that China seeks," said the prime minister.

"They (Chinese) will not only invest in Pakistan but transfer technology and increase our productivity," said the premier.

The industrial city, meant for housing foreign and local investors besides giving impetus to economic activities in the country, is a mega project of the Special Economic Zone of Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Appreciating the economic policies of Prime Minister Imran Khan, FIEDMC Chairman Mian Kashif Ashfaq said that the incumbent government focused on the economic growth in the country.

"With trade and investment being an important pillar of the incumbent government's foreign policy, there is a positive sentiment among the international community towards the country's economy, which needs to be tapped," he added.

Highlighting the development projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Ashfaq said that around 200 million U.S. dollars foreign investment would be injected in various projects at the special zone having an area of 4,000 acres alongside the expressway.

The official added that the project is likely to create 300,000 jobs.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)