ISLAMABAD: A delegation of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) led by its Marketing Head Wang Mareting visited Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) here on Monday.
The delegation gave a detailed presentation about the investment opportunities in Rashakai Especial Industrial Zones being developed under CPEC Project.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Wang, Marketing Head, CRBC said that the Rashakai SEZ would be equipped with all the latest facilities and amenities and would house many industries including metal processing, food processing, automobile, construction material, electronics and leather etc.
He said the SEZ would feature tech city, logistic centre, trade town and manufacturing city. He said by investing in Rashakai SEZ, the investors would be able to export their products to Central Asia, Middle East and may other countries. He also showed interest in signing MoU with ICCI to promote Rashakai SEZ for maximizing its investment potential.
Giving the presentation, Khurram Khan, Investment Advisor CRBC said that Rashakai SEZ was being developed as a pilot project under CPEC. He said that the investors would get many benefits by investing in Rashakai SEZ including 10 year holiday on income tax and one time exemption in customs duty on the import of machinery.
He said the CRBC was making efforts with the government to extend tax holiday from 10 to 30 years. He said the government would share the payment of 50 percent mark-up on loans taken by the investors for investment in the said SEZ.
He said the Rashakai SEZ would be developed at an area of 1000-acre land near M-1 in Nowshera, which was 60KMs from Peshawar and 100KMs from Islamabad. He said keeping the in view the demand, the area of SEZ could be further extended.
Speaking at the occasion, Ahmed Hassan Moughal, President ICCI, stressed that the government should provide level playing field to local and foreign investors in Rashakai SEZ as any preferential incentives to foreign investors would hurt the interests of local industry.
He further emphasized that the government should offer special discount to ICCI for purchase of plots in Rashakai SEZ so that it could mobilize maximum investors of this region for exploring JVs and investment in the said SEZ.
The local investors gave many good suggestions for investment in Rashakai SEZ and they were assured that their concerns and suggestions would be conveyed to the relevant authorities for consideration.