Special Economic Zones in the OIC Region:
Learning from Experience
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The Act also lays out the rights and obligations of the developer, including to:
 Develop the industrial park land;
 Operate the industrial park;
 Provide services to investors in the industrial park as the operator;
 Sub-lease the land;
 Rent or sell immovable assets to investors;
 Make space available for the one-stop-shop facility;
 Take advantage of incentives offered;
 Aim to link local businesses into supply chain;
 Replace expatriates with Ethiopians by training local employees; and
 Can sub-lease development or operation of site.
The regulations lay out in more detail timeframes of these obligations. A number of the new
regulations are currently being gazetted and await finalisation (given the Industrial Park
programme is fairly new in Ethiopia). Some of the regulations have, however been signed off.
SEZ Regulations
5.7.3.1 Land Tenure
Land lease term: 60-80 years at nominal rate for factories & residential quarters.
Factory rental has a renewable 10-year term.
Incentives
Fiscal incentives
Fiscal incentives for manufacturers:
 Exempted from income tax up to 8 - 10 years;
 Exempted from duties & other taxes on imports of capital goods, construction materials,
spare parts with a value of 15% of capital goods after business license, rawmaterials for
the production of export commodities & vehicles;
 Loss carry forward (for half on income tax exemption of period granted); and
 No taxes on exports.
Fiscal incentives for developers:
 Exempted from income tax up to 15 years (outside Addis Ababa); and
 Exempted from duties & other taxes on imports of capital goods, construction materials,
spare parts, 15% of capital goods after business licence, raw materials & vehicles.