Minister defends concept of special economic zones

THE Government is determined to push ahead with its Special Economic Zones (SEZs) concept which has been proven successful and beneficial in other countries, says International Trade and Investment Minister Richard Maru.
Maru was responding to comments by Institute of National Affairs executive director Paul Barker that some aspects of the SEZs concept were a big mistake as they encouraged corruption.
Maru said if Barker was right, then why did countries such as China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines use SEZs as the major driver of their sustainable and inclusive economic growth?
“Why are all the corruption unheard of in these countries?” he asked.
“They have proven that the SEZ is a successful vehicle for transformation and a creator of thousands of jobs.”
He challenged Barker to provide the “literature and facts” to prove his argument.
“You cannot just make a broad attack on SEZs,” Maru said.
“Can you imagine if the land at Paga Hill in Port Moresby was not acquired to be used for an SEZ? Do you want Port Moresby to have major settlements on prime land ramping petty crimes instead of creating jobs?
“Is that what you want for this city? Or do you want this city to be transformed?”
He said when the Paga Hill SEZ was developed, it would create 12,000 new jobs and millions of Kina in goods and services tax and personal income tax.
“We are working to build a great nation and a great city,” he said.
“We have a very good SEZ Act passed in 2019 and we are just finalising the final draft of the new SEZs Foundation Policy.”