Peshawar: The first phase of the development of Rashakai Economic Zone has entered its final stages and will be completed in December, said a senior official.
While talking about the mega project, Ahsan Laiq, Acting Manager at Rashakai Estate Office, said work on the first phase started in 2021 and has now entered the final stages of its completion.
“Development work on Rashakai Economic Zone was divided into three phases. The first phase involved developing 350 acres of the total 1,000 acres of land allotted for the zone,” he said.
In the first phase, infrastructure was to be developed. Infrastructure development represents the most important step in the development of any economic zone, because it is the hard structure essential for the initiation of economic activity.
“Almost 90% of the electricity grid has been completed. The total allocation of electricity to Rashakai Economic Zone is 10MW. Power pylons have also been erected for distribution of electricity throughout the zone. The final connection of poles through electricity wires will be completed before December,” he said.
Ahsan said a sewerage network has also been laid down in the economic zone. He said the main road of the Rashakai Economic Zone has also been laid down completely.
“Here instead of charcoal black-top variant, concrete roads have been laid down. Due to industrial activity, there will be a lot of heavy traffic with trucks full of goods moving around. Normal roads do not have the capacity to handle such heavy traffic. Therefore, concrete roads have been laid down to prevent the deterioration of infrastructure in the future,” Ahsan said.
To provide convenience to investors, a reception building at the entrance of the zone has also been completed. It will get operational before the end of this year. A private bank has also started functioning there to serve the incoming investors. The bank and the reception are housed in the administration building which will be responsible to manage the whole economic zone. The administration building is also complete.
“Some big names have already lined up to start operation in Rashakai Economic Zone. They include Century Steel from China, Pakistan Oxygen and Dawn Bread,” he said.
In addition to these big names, he said, a few small ones have already started their operations in Rashakai Economic Zone.
Ahsan said Rashakai Economic Zone has been marketed in various events in Beijing and also in Pakistan so that investors can get knowledge about the development opportunities there.