Federal Minister for Privatisation Fawad Hasan Fawad on Wednesday chaired the first meeting of SIFC Working Group to discuss impediments in the development of special economic zones (SEZs) with the objective of fast-tracking industrialization. The meeting was attended by all stakeholders in the provincial governments and their industrial zone authorities, an official press release said.
The Additional Secretary of Board of Investment (BOI) and Director General of Special Economic Zones highlighted the major impediments faced by existing ones and the framework requirements of future SEZs, including the development of a ‘One Stop Shop’ facilitation.
The forum discussed the limitations of the concept of ‘One Stop Shop’ and pointed out the need of a mutual agreement between the federal and provincial governments for a development framework based on international best practices and standards, with a legal mandate in the constitutional scheme.
The issues of identification and allotment of land, cost competitiveness, provision of utilities, human resource constraints and consistency of policies were also discussed. It was agreed that based on the key takeouts of the meeting a working paper containing solutions and a clear roadmap for future would be circulated for the second and final meeting of the Working Group to be held next week.–APP
