Special Economic Zone Development Training Course

Participants can identify the policy, legal and institutional conditions required for a credible zone programme.

• National industrial policy alignment with zone development objectives
• SEZ legislation, implementing regulations and delegated authority provisions
• Mandate mapping among ministries, municipalities, customs and regulators
• One-stop service legal basis, service standards and escalation routes
• Investment treaty, trade agreement and state-aid compliance considerations
• Policy coherence checks for tax, land, labour and environmental rules

Participants can build an evidence-based case for investor demand and tenant attraction.

• Investor decision criteria by manufacturing, logistics and digital-services segments
• Primary research plans using interviews, surveys and investor roundtables
• Desk research triangulation from trade, firm and FDI datasets
• Demand estimation through tenant pipeline probability and absorption assumptions
• Competitor benchmarking against regional zones, ports and industrial estates
• SWOT analysis separating evidence, assumptions, opportunities and constraints

Participants can select target sectors and define a credible cluster proposition.

• Value-chain mapping from inputs through production, logistics and markets
• Location quotient analysis for regional specialisation and supplier density
• Target-sector screening using market growth, capability and infrastructure fit
• Anchor-investor strategy and supplier development sequencing
• Cluster propositions linking skills, research institutions and shared facilities
• Exclusion criteria for sectors exceeding site, utility or compliance capacity

Participants can compare candidate sites using transparent commercial, technical and public-interest criteria.

• PESTLE assessment of national and subnational investment conditions
• Weighted site-scoring matrices with documented criteria and sensitivity tests
• Access analysis for ports, borders, airports, markets and labour catchments
• Land suitability screening for topography, hazards, tenure and contamination
• Utility capacity assessment covering power, water, wastewater and telecommunications
• GIS-ready data layers for site comparison and boundary definition

Participants can assess land readiness and manage critical pre-development dependencies.

• Land tenure due diligence using cadastral records and ownership verification
• Land acquisition pathways, valuation principles and compensation planning
• Resettlement risk screening against national law and lender requirements
• Development readiness registers covering permits, surveys and utility connections
• Geotechnical, hydrological and contamination investigations informing site costs
• Boundary management plans for neighbouring communities and informal users

Participants can prepare a phased physical development concept linked to demand and infrastructure capacity.

• Land-use allocation for industrial plots, logistics, services and buffers
• Plot-size strategy aligned with target-sector operational requirements
• Road hierarchy, freight circulation and emergency access design principles
• Phasing plans tied to tenant absorption and infrastructure triggers
• Common facilities planning for warehouses, training centres and testing laboratories
• Design controls for setbacks, building heights, signage and plot coverage

Participants can define infrastructure requirements, service standards and delivery priorities for an SEZ.

• Demand forecasting for electricity, water, wastewater and solid waste
• Utility service-level agreements defining availability, quality and response times
• Infrastructure sequencing through critical-path analysis and tenant commitments
• Off-site connection risks for roads, substations, ports and fibre networks
• Resilience measures for flooding, outages, drought and climate hazards
• Digital zone systems for permits, access control and utility metering

Participants can integrate environmental and social risk controls into zone planning and operations.

• Environmental and social impact assessment scoping for zone-wide impacts
• Mitigation hierarchy applied to land, biodiversity, pollution and displacement
• Environmental management plans with responsibilities, budgets and monitoring indicators
• Industrial effluent standards, treatment options and discharge compliance
• Occupational health and safety systems for construction and tenant operations
• Grievance mechanisms for workers, communities, tenants and contractors

Participants can test whether a zone proposal is financially feasible and economically justified.

• Capital expenditure estimates for land, infrastructure, buildings and contingencies
• Operating expenditure assumptions for maintenance, utilities and zone services
• Revenue models using land leases, sales, tariffs and service fees
• Discounted cash-flow modelling with NPV, IRR and payback metrics
• Economic cost-benefit analysis including jobs, exports and externalities
• Sensitivity analysis for absorption, pricing, costs and financing assumptions

Participants can compare financing structures and allocate risks among public and private parties.

• Public financing options through budgets, development banks and land contributions
• Public-private partnership structures for zone infrastructure and operations
• Risk allocation matrices covering demand, construction, regulation and utilities
• Concession agreements defining performance, tariffs, reporting and termination
• Bankability assessment using revenue certainty, security and contractual protections
• Viability-gap funding principles for justified public contributions

Participants can design incentive and customs arrangements that support investment without uncontrolled fiscal cost.

• Tax incentive typologies including holidays, credits, exemptions and allowances
• Fiscal cost estimation using foregone revenue and behavioural assumptions
• Sunset clauses, eligibility rules and performance-based incentive conditions
• Customs procedures for bonded goods, warehousing and re-export controls
• Rules of origin considerations for preferential market access
• Anti-abuse controls for transfer pricing, diversion and related-party transactions

Participants can design accountable governance arrangements for zone development, regulation and operations.

• Authority, developer and operator models with separated accountabilities
• Board composition, decision rights and conflict-of-interest controls
• Operating agreements between zone authorities and private operators
• Service charters defining tenant rights, duties and response standards
• Inter-agency coordination protocols for permits, utilities and inspections
• Performance management dashboards for operators and public authorities

Participants can build an investor attraction process from prospecting through post-establishment aftercare.

• Investor value propositions matched to verified sector requirements
• Account-based investment promotion for priority firms and intermediaries
• Lead qualification criteria covering capital, jobs, timelines and fit
• Site-visit programmes with evidence packs, agendas and decision milestones
• Investor pipeline management using CRM stages and conversion metrics
• Aftercare protocols identifying expansion barriers, grievances and reinvestment opportunities

Participants can specify investor service workflows that reduce delay while preserving regulatory controls.

• Service blueprinting for investor journeys from inquiry to operation
• Permit workflow mapping with approval owners and statutory timelines
• Standard operating procedures for registration, licensing and utility connections
• Case-management systems recording applications, status, escalations and outcomes
• Risk-based inspection models for low-risk and high-risk tenant activities
• Service-level metrics for turnaround time, accuracy and satisfaction

Participants can design measures that connect zone investment with domestic firms, workers and communities.

• Supplier mapping to identify local procurement and upgrading opportunities
• Vendor development programmes using quality, certification and finance support
• Local-content targets balanced against investor competitiveness and trade obligations
• Workforce planning for occupational demand, skills gaps and training partnerships
• Gender-responsive employment measures covering recruitment, safety and childcare
• Community benefit plans linking zone impacts, commitments and grievance resolution

Participants can identify, assess and manage strategic, operational and compliance risks within zone programmes.

• Risk registers linking causes, consequences, controls and accountable owners
• Probability-impact scoring with inherent and residual risk ratings
• Political and regulatory risk scenarios affecting investors and operators
• Anti-corruption controls for land allocation, procurement and tenant approvals
• Business continuity plans for utility failures, disasters and security incidents
• Compliance audits covering incentives, customs, environmental and labour obligations

Participants can establish performance indicators and review mechanisms for zone results and corrective action.

• Logical framework design linking activities, outputs, outcomes and impacts
• Indicator definitions specifying baselines, targets, sources and reporting frequency
• Tenant data collection protocols protecting confidentiality and data quality
• Additionality measurement for investment, employment, exports and productivity
• Periodic performance reviews using variance analysis and corrective actions
• Independent evaluation questions for economic, social and fiscal results

Participants can manage stakeholder interests and build support for evidence-based zone decisions.

• Stakeholder mapping by influence, interest, position and engagement approach
• Political economy analysis of incentives, veto points and informal power
• Consultation plans for communities, businesses, labour groups and legislators
• Issue logs tracking commitments, concerns, responses and unresolved decisions
• Negotiation preparation using BATNA, interests and concession limits
• Ministerial briefing notes presenting options, trade-offs and decision requests

Participants can build, review and present a complete SEZ or investment-cluster development package for a defined location.

• Problem statement linking market failure, policy goals and development rationale
• Site and sector case supported by demand and competitiveness evidence
• Phased master development concept with infrastructure and utility priorities
• Governance, financing and operating model with allocated responsibilities
• Investor proposition, service model and domestic linkage actions
• Risk register, logical framework and implementation roadmap presentation