Rejecting any
charge of undue delay, Ya.Gantumur, director of the Zamiin Uud economic free
zone, yesterday said work on the general plan for the zone was progressing on
schedule. Funding issues relating to infrastructure construction were finalized
during the visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and MNT 10 billion had already
been allocated from the state budget. The Government sees the Zamiin Uud free
zone as a priority, Gantumur said.

He said the
selection of companies and factories to be based in the zone will be made only
after the infrastructure is in place. “An economic free zone is like a small
city, and land cannot be distributed there when there is no infrastructure, and
no city planning,” he said. All units working from the zone will be fully
exempt from paying taxes for five years. Then they will pay 50 percent tax for
three years. Afterwards, there will be no tax relief.

He saw the
zone as fully operational in 2012. The most important areas of work are water
and electricity supply, sewage, a 10-kilometer road, parks and street lighting.