ADDIS ABABA — The Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) said that Ethiopia's Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have become ideal investment hubs for potential investors enabling the country to increase forex earnings.

In an exclusive interview with the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA), IPDC Chief Executive Officer FissehaYitagesu (PhD) stated that Ethiopia has been undertaking extensive infrastructural development activities and deploying state-of-the-art technologies in all its industrial parks and special economic zones aiming to allure potential investments.

He also emphasized that the transformation of industrial parks into special economic zones helped the country attract investors in various sectors, thus, managing to address forex shortages and promoting investors' participation.

Furthermore, the transition is also helping to stimulate the manufacturing sector and foreign direct investment, export promotion and boost import substitution.

Accordingly, China, India and Middle East countries are not only taking the forefront in the parks but also in other investment areas.Fisseha also said that these zones are also delivering efficient, time saving and cost effective one stop services to investors in an organized manner to curb the lengthy bureaucratic red tapes that hinder the involvement of investors.

"The parks are implementing various plug-and-produce infrastructural developments, state-of-the-art technologies to modernize government services," he noted.

Since these economic zones need a favorable environment, world-class infrastructure, and efficient workforce, the CEO highlighted that the Corporation is currently commissioning various initiatives to bring about competitive parks and forging connectivity across Africa and beyond.

It is to be recalled that the country has recently transformed 10 IPs out of the 13 industrial parks to special economic zones aiming at enhancing FDI and economic growth among many others.