Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6
By Fikret Dolukhanov - Trend:
There is a plan to produce products worth $111.8 million in the territory of the Jizzakh Free Economic Zone (FEZ), which is 160 percent higher than in 2017 ($42.9 million), the Jizzakh FEZ Directorate told Trend June 6.
Glass wool, sewing machines, collectors, brake pads, polypropylene pipes, LED lamps, as well as high-tech products like home appliances, video and IP telephones and other telecommunications equipment and accessories will be manufactured at the FEZ.
Presently, according to the Jizzakh FEZ, 46 projects worth $591 million are realized in its territory, of which $173.4 million accounts for foreign direct investments, and $165.3 million accounts for bank loans.
"Thanks to these projects, about 4,200 jobs were created on the FEZ territory."
The Jizzakh FEZ Directorate said 16 projects worth $164 million are in the process of development, to which foreign investors are being attracted.
"The products of enterprises operating at the FEZ are mainly exported to the countries of Central Asia. However, soon it is planned to expand the geography of exports to the markets of the CIS, East, Southeast and South Asia, Europe and the Middle East," according to the Directorate.
Presently, various types of glass products, worth a total of $110 million, are produced at the Jizzakh FEZ under a project of the Chinese company MingYuan Silu Industry Co. Ltd. The production capacity of the enterprise is 16 million square meters of glass products a year. About 40 percent of the finished products is exported abroad. The enterprise employs 400 people.
The Jizzakh FEZ, with a total area of 363.7 hectares, was created in accordance with a decree of the Uzbek president on March 18, 2013.
Among the advantages of the FEZ, are the availability of engineering and communication infrastructures, special mineral resources, special tax and customs benefits.
That is why, the FEZ is located on the New Silk Road as well as the new 1,090-kilometer Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China highway (from the Jizzakh city in Uzbekistan to Kashgar in China).
There are more than 20 deposits of mineral resources in the Jizzakh region. Particularly, the region has 196 million tons of raw materials for cement production, 11.9 million tons of barite, 7.3 million tons of cladding stone, 6.7 million tons of expanded clay, 5.8 million tons of limestone, 4.1 million tons of wollastonite, two million tons gypsum, etc.
The Jizzakh FEZ grants investors a wide range of benefits and preferences. Depending on the volume of investments, investors are released from payment of land tax, profit tax, property tax for legal entities, tax for improvement and development of social infrastructure, single tax payment for micro firms and small enterprises, as well as mandatory contributions to state funds for various periods.
In case of investing $300,000-$1 million, the investor receives benefits for three years, $3-$5 million - for five years, $5-$10 million - for seven years, and over $10 million - for 10 years.
In addition, investors are released from customs payments for importing raw materials, materials and component parts for manufacturing products aimed at export for the entire period of activity at the FEZ.
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