Lasbela-CCI president proposes HITE phase-2 be declared SEZ

President of Lasbela Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Ismail Suttar has urged the government to declare Hub Industrial and Trading Estate (HITE) Phase 2 as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). This term is used for designated areas with special economic regulations which are conducive to foreign direct investment.
The economic activities in these well-defined geographic areas are promoted by a set of policy measures not applicable to the rest of the country such as receiving tax incentives and opportunity to pay lower tariffs. "We have seen China to undergo an exponential economic growth by executing this idea and now it has more than 38 such zones in the country. Pakistan established SEZ Act in 2012 and according to the law, the federal or provincial governments can either themselves set up an SEZ or they can achieve it in collaboration with the private sector," Suttar said adding that Sindh and Punjab had declared three SEZs in their provinces but Balochistan has not been fortunate enough. It has been overlooked once again, he said.
Lasbela-CCI president said that HITE Phase 1 in Balochistan began with only a couple of industries but within a quarter of a century the area saw rapid growth and now consists of more than 300 industries including the industries in the marble city, an area developed by his LCCI and LIEDA without any government funding. Hence, it has an already established infrastructure for a thriving industrial area in HITE.
"Any lack of amenities such as road, electricity and water can be overcome by developing such facilities as quickly as ninety days. The growth of the industrial area has brought huge economic development to Balochistan. One does not need to wonder what economic benefits the development of HITE Phase 2 would bring to the province and the country since we already have a successful example in front of us," he said adding that there was also a massive potential for foreign investment, which was very important for Pakistan, if we make it lucrative for investors to set up an industry by declaring the area as SEZ. The HITE Phase 2 area has more than four hundred acres of land available to be used for setting up industries and becoming the SEZ and that would offer access to high quality infrastructure, power supply, public facilities and support services
Suttar said that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was expected to be a game-changer for the entire region and has a potential of $46 billion investment in Pakistan. Balochistan deserves a slice of that investment and establishing HITE Phase 2 as SEZ would ensure a share in it.
"Government is considering 5 sites to be declared as SEZ along the western route of CPEC in Balochistan but they already have an established industrial region at their hand in HITE. Why build something from scratch when there is an area at their disposal which they can just hone with lesser effort and expenditure of money and it will be more worthwhile," he said asking why not give a chance to a region which had already shown huge success and growth even without the economic benefits that being an SEZ would bring.
He said that the said area after all paid a lot of money to the national exchequer and deserved some attention from the government especially because it would end up benefiting the province and the country. Balochistan is the biggest province of Pakistan and yet it remains largely underdeveloped especially as compared to the other provinces and the majority of the population lives in poor socio-economic conditions. Developing the area through industrialisation is a superb way to bring in prosperity to the province and make better the lives of its people.
"The government needs to think of those people while considering this proposal of declaring HITE an SEZ. The developmental potential of the idea of SEZ is massive for entire country, let alone local populace. It will help generate foreign exchange through a boost in exports and import of technology to the country by way of collaboration of local companies with foreign ones," he said adding that locally, of course there were benefits such as boost in employment opportunities, skill generation opportunities, and human resource development. Balochistan could really use these benefits to elevate their people to better living conditions and a way of life.