The Punjab Industrial Estates Development & Management Company (PIEDMC) has offered the local and foreign investors to set up their factories in four special economic zones (SEZs) in the Punjab province.

While giving a briefing to the business community, PIEDMC chief executive officer Muhammad Javed Ilyas said these setups will prove to be a tool to make investment in industrial infrastructure and a service provider to attract and facilitate foreign investment, integrate local firms into global value chains, promote export-oriented growth and generate employment.

He said the economic zones are widely deployed to kick-start industrial sectors and to promote technology transfer to local economies and can contribute in improving the overall investment environment, lowering transaction costs for FDI activities, increasing the ease of doing business and streamlining administrative procedures, including the time required to set up operations.

These special economic zones are located in close approximate of motorways and would increase employment to 450,000 skilled and more than two million unskilled people and also help increase the GDP, increase in tax revenue, improvement in balance of trade through exports and overall economic prosperity in the country.

He hoped that out of four smart special economic zones, the Qauid-E-Azam Business Park (QABP) located at on M2 motorway and just 38 kilometers from Lahore will become trend setter in the country as Sundar Industrial estate (SIE) in Lahore has become role model for industrial set ups in Pakistan where more than 450 factories are functional.

He explained that special economic zones including QABP will be constructed on 1536 acres of land, and already constructed Vehari on 250 acres, Bhalwal on 427 acres of land and Rahim Yar Khan Zone on 456 acres of land. He informed that a labour colony would also be built for executives and labourers in Quaid-e-Azam Business Park.