Special Economic Zones in the OIC Region:
Learning from Experience
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summaries the comparative analysis between the selected SEZs within OIC Member
Countries against key evaluation criteria. It can be observed that the most successful zones in
terms of total employment and numbers of firms, were those zones which were located in close
proximity to major port infrastructure with large capacity for movement of imports and exports.
In particular it can be seen that those zones with a sectoral focus on the export / re-export of
goods and heavy industrial activities generated the most jobs per hectare whilst those focused
on light manufacturing activities such as textiles and pharmaceutical products generated the
least number of jobs.
As previously discussed it was also observed that those member countries with established zone
authorities and investment agencies were the most successful in terms of employment and
enterprise generation indicating that these are key factors to success.
Whilst this section has attempted to identify key drivers of success within benchmarked OIC
member country SEZs, it should be acknowledged that factors which contribute to success are
also likely to be very context specific. The importance of prevailing economic conditions should
be acknowledged and this is reflected in the comparative analysis of zones such as Jebel Ali
within the UAE (an advanced development economy) and those zones such as Lekki Free Zone
which is located within a developing economy.
4.4 Key Successes of SEZ Development in OIC Member Countries
Some of the most successful SEZ programmes within OIC Member Countries have managed to
facilitate the evolutionary development of zones from first stage enclave-type zones focused on
employment and skill upgrading through increasing FDI volumes in export orientated activities
to second stage diversification of the production base of the domestic economy. In a number of
cases it is apparent that the economic diversification of domestic economies has been facilitated
by the introduction of SEZs and attracting new manufacturing and service industries to replace
or supplement traditional resource based economies. As mentioned earlier i the United
Arab Emirates has been one of the most successful economies globally at implementing the free
zone model to attract high value activities to achieve their objectives of diversifying into non-oil
sectors.