PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (EZDMC) on Wednesday approved launching of four new economic zones across the province.

The approval was made at the 36th meeting of the board of directors on Wednesday, according to a statement issued here.

It approved launching of economic zones in Ghazi, Chitral, Jalozai and extension of the Nowshera economic zone.

The Ghazi economic zone would be spread over an area of 89.9 acres, Chitral 40, Jalozai 257.5 and Nowshera 76.25 acres.

The statement said that EZDMC had possession of the strategically located land for the proposed economic zones and would soon complete formalities to initiate work on the projects.

The launching of the economic zones was a pivotal step that would not only create industrial growth and job opportunities for locals but also spur economic activity slowed down by Covid-19-induced lockdown. The statement said that these zones would bring billions of rupees worth of investments and provide job opportunities to over 25,000 people.

“These zones will have electricity and a well-developed infrastructure which will facilitate investors looking forward to setting up their industries close to their base or near raw materials,” it said.

CEO EZDMC Javed Khattak stated that this was a crucial step as the province needed to attract investment and boost economic activity. “With these new zones, economy of the region will flourish and job generation will be achieved which is one of the primary tasks of the company,” Mr Khattak said.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2020