Karachi: The Sindh Economic Zones Management Company (SEZMC) has invited bids for the development of the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone (SEZ), a news source reported. This announcement was made in leading newspapers across the country and followed the Sindh government’s official launch on Monday of the Dhabeji SEZ located in Thatta district near Port Qasim. The launch of Dhabeji was expedited after the Prime Minister’s orders to quickly make the SEZs in the country functional.
SEZMC Chief Executive Officer Abdul Azeem Uqaili promised that the initial development process will take approximately eight months, and the chosen bidder will be given a span of 18 months to complete the development work required to make the SEZ operational. This initial progress will be part of phase I. Only when 70% of the work for this phase has been completed, will the bidder be granted the approval to begin development of phase II.
Throughout this process, the government will only act as a facilitator providing land, while all the work will be carried out by the developer alone. They would be responsible for providing all the basic utilities in the area as well. The management of SEZMC is looking for developers who can attract investment from industries so that Dhabeji can become functional as soon as possible.
One of the major reasons to involve the private sector in the development process is the government and the SEZMC’s belief that this will lead to the creation of jobs.
The contract for the project will be awarded to the bidder with the highest technical score (as per the structural model of the company), combined with the lowest cost valuation. The developer will also be allowed to sell land within the area to earn a profit. In this regard, the government is not planning on charging any money at all.
