Special Economic Zones in the OIC Region:
Learning from Experience
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2.4 Organisational Structure
SEZs are also defined by their organisational structure with regards to how and who is involved
in their development, operation, regulation and marketing. There are a number of key
governance roles which vary between zones, these include:3
 Regulator – typically a government body with oversight authority. The regulator
typically ensures that the regulatory environment is more streamlined and efficient
than that found domestically;
 Developer – can either be a public or a private body which is responsible for design,
planning and managing the development of infrastructure and facilities within the SEZ;
and
 Operator and Service Providers – again can either be a public, private or quasi-public
body responsible for day-to-day management of services to the site investors, tenants
and workforce.
The various roles and responsibilities involved in these governance structures as well as their
relationship to existing public sector ministries, departments and agencies can often result in
institutional complexity. This can lead to ineffective coordination in delivering the outcomes of
an SEZ programme. One of the key solutions to this is the creation of a ‘One-Stop-Shop’ which
can help to improve the efficiency of approvals for initial set-up and ongoing operations as well
as providing a key link between business and government, reducing excessive bureaucracy. One-
Stop-Shops can also play a key role in marketing and attracting investment to an SEZ as well as
providing ‘aftercare’ to tenants to ensure that continuing investment needs and requirements
are met.
There can however be political difficulties in establishing effective One-Stop-Shops as it requires
some government ministries, agencies or departments to yield powers, particularly with regard
to the delegation of decision making and legal powers on matters such as visas, permits and
license approvals.
2.5 Ownership of SEZs
Since the establishment of the first modern SEZ in Shannon, Ireland in the 1959, the number of
SEZ projects has increased exponentially. In particular there has been an increase in the number
of privately developed and operated zones worldwide. A key factor behind the rise of private
zones is the realisation that SEZs can be profitably operated on the part of developers and that
the burden on public sector resources can be reduce
3 Farole, Baissac & Gauthier (2012) Special Economic Zones: A Guidance Framework for Policymaking.