Recently, Deputy Prime Minister U. Enkhtuvshin visited Zamyn-Uud soum of Dornogobi province, which is located on the Chinese border and urged the administration to officially open the special economic zone (SEZ).

According to Mr. U.Enkhtuvshin, a total of USD 58.8 million has already been invested in establishing the Zamyn-Uud SEZ; the first stage of infrastructure  development has already been concluded. The zone will use the H2 roadway between Zamyn Uud and Altanbulag on Mongolia’s northern border with Russia, which is the site of an already functioning special economic zone.

The Zamyn Uud SEZ is located 780 km from the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar and 230 km from Sainshand, the administrative centre of the Dornogobi province and 8 km from the Chinese city of Erlian.

The world’s first free economic zone was established at Shannon in Ireland in 1959, initially in close cooperation with the international airport. It soon developed into a base for export-oriented manufacture with foreign investment. In 1978, at the initiative of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, Beijing sent a delegation to study the Shannon model; the result was the establishment of the Shenzhen special economic zone, which was the first of many. China’s special economic zones, which are practically all located in coastal regions in close proximity to ports and transportation hubs, have been central to the economic transformation of China.

Beijing has, for many years been keen for Mongolia to establish its own zones; currently Altanbulag is in operation and is actively trading with Russia. Considerable investment has been put into the development of the Zamyn-Uud zone.