SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES: One still incomplete; govt plans study in 12 other places
Though the government is yet to complete work on the country’s first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Bhairahawa, it is initiating a process to develop SEZs in a dozen other places.
The Ministry of Industry (MoI) is currently undertaking a feasibility study in three places—Biratnagar, Jumla and Kapilvastu—and plans to start the study in five more places—Dhanusha, Siraha, Jhapa, Gorkha and Rautahat—in the near future. The government has already completed a feasibility study for the construction of the SEZs in Panchkhal, Ratomata and Dhangadhi.
The inclusion of the five new districts has surprised many, as they are neither included in the annual budget nor in the MoI’s annual programme. The current budget had said that preliminary work to establish SEZs in Biratnagar, Jumla and Panchkhal would be accelerated, apart from completing work for the establishment of the SEZ in Bhairahawa.
The ministry’s annual programme has mentioned completion of the feasibility study for SEZs in Biratnagar, Jumla and Kapilvastu within the current fiscal year.
Ministry sources said initiation of the feasibility study for SEZs in Gorkha and Rautahat is purely political. “The prime minister and the industry minister belong to Gorkha and Rautahat districts respectively,” an MoI source said.
MoI Spokesperson Yam Kumari Khatiwada said the ministry has already sent proposals on the feasibility study to the National Planning Commission. “We have sent the proposals to the National Planning Commission. Once it approves the programme, we will promptly begin work to execute it,” said Khatiwada, who is also the chief of the SEZ project.
Khatiwada, however, claimed that plans to conduct the feasibility study in Gorakha and Rautahat are at a preliminary stage and that there is nothing wrong in it.
Even though the government is expediting studies for the SEZs, a legal framework for the operation of the zones is still incomplete. The proposed SEZ bill is still stuck in the parliament. The bill proposes that the government develop infrastructure and provide tax incentives and other facilities for industries to be opened inside the SEZ. It also incorporates a mandatory provision that the industries operating inside the SEZs must export 75 percent of the total production. Without the SEZ Act in place, the private sector still harbours doubts about the successful implementation of the SEZ concept in the country. “There is nothing wrong in initiating the study. But, a number of similar studies conducted earlier have failed to yeild concrete results,” said Manish Kumar Agrawal, executive member of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). “Instead of looking for new places to run the feasibility study, the government must construct and operate SEZ in at least one place even as a model.”
Industrialists say the government needs to think seriously if the country needs that many SEZs. “Even if we have only one SEZ, we will at least know if the concept in Nepal can be effective,” said Pashupati Murarka, the vice-president of the FNCCI. He urged the government to concentrate on the implementation aspect rather than looking for new districts to conduct the feasibility studies.
STATUS OF SEZs
Bhairahawa work 75% completed
Simara work has begun
Biratnagar feasibility study going on
Jumla study going on
Kapilvastu study going on
Dhangadhi study completed
Paanchkhal study completed
Ratomato study completed
Dhanusha study yet to begin
Siraha study yet to begin
Jhapa study yet to begin
Gorkha study yet to begin
Rautahat study yet to begin
Posted on: 2011-12-19 09:14
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