Support for Sustainable and Competitive Special Economic Zones and Reconstruction Opportunity Zones

Support for Sustainable and Competitive Special Economic Zones and Reconstruction Opportunity Zones is designed to support the development and management of sustainable Special Economic Zones and Reconstruction Opportunity Zones. The Project focuses on strengthening Pakistani capability in both private and public sector to plan, design, regulate and manage viable Special Economic Zones in some of the most challenging environments in Pakistan.

The Trade Project's efforts support maximum private sector involvement in the development of ROZs, while focusing the public sector on creating a business environment conducive to development and growth. At the same time, a two-phased development approach recognizes the challenges on the ground.

Phase 1 is focusing on obtaining ROZ designation for existing factories and industrial estates under current laws to ramp up the ROZ program rapidly. Phase II will establish new legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks for ROZs that will form the basis of a broader program to attract new investment.

In addition, the Trade Project provides technical assistance to SEZs, industrial estates and free zones in other locations in Pakistan, aiming to broaden the basis of support to facilitate investment by private sector developers and operators.

Critical challenges the Trade Project is geared to address in pursuit of this component's objectives include:

• Delays in the passage and doubts about the viability of the ROZ program that have resulted in considerable skepticism in the market place.
• Ongoing and sometimes critical security constraints.
• Existing infrastructure and remote locations of ROZ areas create considerable logistical and geographical disadvantages.
• Weak or nascent regulatory and physical infrastructure of the existing Special Economic Zone (including Industrial Estates and Export Processing Zones) regimes.

Principle Objectives of the Component

• Established, operational ROZs in critical areas.
• Measurably increased exports to the USA by enterprises in ROZs and other industrial zones.
• Global Development Alliances facilitated to increase business activity in ROZs and other industrial zones.