Kathmandu, March 19

If everything goes as planned, the Garment Processing Zone (GPZ) within the Simara Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will be ready for investors within April, according to the SEZ Authority, Nepal.

Chandika Bhatta, executive director of SEZ Authority, Nepal, said that it has developed 69 land plots at the GPZ targeting garment investors and will call for bookings of these blocks within April. “We have finalised land blocks while a few things including power supply management are yet to be accomplished. Once we finalise the power supply issue inside GPZ, we will call for interested investors to invest in the GPZ,” he said.

The SEZ Authority, Nepal has informed that the construction of necessary buildings, roads, compound walls and drainage, among other physical infrastructure of the GPZ inside the Simara SEZ has already been completed.

All the 69 blocks will be equipped with necessary facilities including power, road connectivity, water supply and sanitation, among others.

The government came up with the concept of GPZ after the United States extended zero tariff preference for 66 products, including apparels, into its market through the ‘Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act’ in February 2016. Construction of GPZ is expected to bring down the production and export cost of garments in Nepal, which is relatively higher when compared with other nations in the South Asian region.

Along with reducing the cost of production and export, the GPZ is also expected to slash the high transport and shipment costs incurred by Nepali garment traders due to Nepal’s landlocked status, as the Simara Garment Processing Zone is located near the country’s only rail-linked dry port in Birgunj.