KP Economic Zone Development and Management Company

The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is working to launch the Rashkai Special Economic Zone (SEZ) by the end of October this year. KP Economic Zone Development and Management Company (EZDMC) and China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) signed a joint venture agreement for the development of Rashkai SEZ last November.

However, one company official told us that

There was a problem to be solved between the company and CRBC. "It's not on some pages in some problems," he said. However, he declined the detailed explanation, referring to the issue to the EZDMC chief executives currently abroad. The secretary industry KP did not respond to questions in this regard. Sources said us that local governments will invest more than 3 billion rupees in land purchases and spend 2 billion rupees on gas and electricity supplies to SEZ. Sources pointed out that at this cost SEZ's conspiracy price will exceed 20 million rupees.

He questioned why industrialists would not go to Punjab or elsewhere there could be a plot against Rs8m. Rashkai Financial Model Analysis conducted by AF Ferguson & Company earlier this year also pointed to the same factor. The report stated that the project costs do not include land costs because the project costs were estimated to be provided by EZDMC. For Rs8m in Punjab and other places, you can buy a price above Rs20m here.

The land was acquired and paid for by the already missing Sarhad Development Authority and is now owned by EZDMC. However, some first landowners mentioned their case in order to approach lower courts and increase the amount of compensation. Subsequently, an additional district judge -1 Nowshera ruled in 2017 that the compensation should be improved from Rs919 per Mala to Rs20,000 per Mala.

Although the EZDMC appealed

This decision, currently applicable improvements could significantly increase the total cost of land from Rs147m to Rs 3.2 billion, significantly increasing the financial obligations of the KP government. We received information from KP EZDMC that the land cost of Rs147m will be recovered from the developer as a one-time discount fee but has not yet been agreed with CRBC. Land issues are encouraged to be settled through court / personal negotiations or to establish an appropriate passing mechanism in business plans and transfer agreements to address the financial exposure of EZDMC.

An outstanding claim on land ownership can be disrupted by a court order, as a result of which the CRBC can claim business losses from local governments, ”the report added. The federal government informed Congress on August 9 that work on offshore infrastructure will begin October 31, 2019. The federal government said that EZDMC should submit PC-1 for electricity supply. On August 30, 2019, the Power Support Department will evaluate the company's proposal for a public support development program.

At the same time, the oil division is making the necessary preparations for the gas supply, while the state will ensure proper water supply. Compensation claims can increase land costs from Rs147m to 3.2 billion Rs. Rashkai SEZ is one of nine economic zones established throughout the country according to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and is located in the Nowshera area, about 97 km from Islamabad.

The proposed industrial park is located along the Peshawar-Islamabad Highway M1 and close to the Swat Highway under construction. The SEZ is being installed in an area of ​​778 acres and will be developed in three phases over six years.

According to the power supply plan

The power requirements of stage 1 are met in the Mardan grid station, and the requirements of stages 2-III are met in Jalozai or Swabi grid stations. Similarly, gas supply to the SEZ will also be guaranteed in three stages. Pump groundwater to meet the water requirement of 4m gallons per day. To connect the SEZ with the road network, the KP government will build 120 foot wide roads at the Karnal Sher Khan interchange in the east and the Wali interchange in the west.

Incentives for investors include the one-time exemption of duties and taxes when importing plants and machinery into real estate, accepting those set out in Chapter 87 of Pakistan Tariffs. In addition, for companies that begin production by June 30, 2020, all taxes on income are exempt. The development of the SEZ will be carried out by special purpose vehicles for this purpose. CRBC becomes a shareholder who owns a 91% stake and EZDCM becomes a minority shareholder who owns a 9pc stake.

Due to numerous technical problems

The operation of the Pakistani railroad has already been stopped, especially on the Tando Adam-Karachi section, the monsoon rains depressed the tracks several times, causing passenger and freight trains to reach speeds of 10 km-20 km per hour. The current PR situation is very bad because the ongoing rain is causing so much damage to the already old tracks in the tandem Adam-Karachi area where the tracks have subsided and depressed.

As a result, the arrival and departure schedules of all trains that have already been hampered by accidents, derailments, launch of several new trains, lack of coaches, wagons, faulty signal systems, etc. ”, the official source of PR is on Saturday. It seems like it takes a long time to keep the train arrivals and departures at PR. While the department focuses on riding new trains, the tracks decay, and accidents continue.

Currently, various public relations teams are working along the various stretches of the sinking and depressed tracks (Main Line 1), and are involved in various rehabilitation tasks, such as preparing temporary drains to bypass accumulated rainwater. In addition, they are particularly troubled in performing these tasks. Especially in areas where the ground of the track is already down due to the high building area of ​​several cities.

Tando Adam Karach

Tando Adam is a section where drivers are forced to run up / down trains at very slow speeds (10-20km per hour) on various track segments. Likewise, these (drivers) are already passing all stations at low speed due to a misguided interlocking / signaling system that has already caused various train accidents and derailments and has lost valuable lives. He said the chief authority of PR, led by the CEO, is exacerbating the situation of reaching the affected area on Sunday. He said ongoing rains further damaged the signal system at several stations, including Lahore.

Meanwhile, the PR administration, which has decided to stop operating new passenger trains, is now planning to launch five new freight trains. And this can make the working situation worse. As the Ministry of Railways announced on July 20 that it will operate five new trains with a pledge to increase revenues and reduce losses, the department is busy preparing the engines and other materials needed to launch new trains these days.

Promotion is focused on the launch of new trains, but derailments continue to occur due to the track's declining tracks (main and branch lines), faulty signal / interlocking systems, human error, unrealistic expansion of operations, severe shortages of labor and others. Doing. Technology, planning and management.

It's time to start the rehabilitation of the corrupt track right away. And if the PR continues to ignore this most important issue, more accidents, derailments, etc. could lead to loss of life and loss of public and private property.