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ISLAMABAD: A Chinese company on Wednesday submitted a proposal to set up an economic zone in the proposed new city of Zulfiqarabad in Sindh and offered to sign an agreement in advance of the forthcoming visit of the Chinese Vice-President to Pakistan.
The proposed economic zone will house leading investors and industrialists from China to undertake mega developmental projects in the new city project. The offer was unveiled during a briefing which was chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari.
The president directed that the Chinese proposal be thoroughly studied and recommendations forwarded to the government at the earliest.
Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar while briefing newsmen stated that the proposed economic zone would not be confined to industrial and economic activities but cover the entire range of activities in a modern metropolis.
According to the proposal, the development programme would be spread over 15 years split into three five-year programmes. Initially the industrialists and investors from China would be brought in to initiate the developmental activities which would subsequently be followed by investors from other countries.
Mr Babar said that a significant feature was that the Chinese would invest and reinvest for 15 years before taking out profits.
He said that the whole idea of setting up a new city was to meet the challenges of the future and to develop safe, modern and an environment friendly coastal city having world class amenities with economic opportunities not only for the inhabitants of the city but also for the people of neighbouring areas.
Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah, Managing Director of Zulfiqarabad Development Authority (ZDA), informed the meeting that the development of the new city included construction of Zulfiqarabad Expressway and a bridge over Indus at Dhandhari.
