The geographic designation of Special Economic Zones

Special economic zones (SEZs) emerged internationally as a policy to support industrial development in particular by providing for the introduction of targeted incentives and infrastructure. Internationally, despite their name, they are often effectively delinked from specific geographic areas in order to achieve these aims. This is especially useful where government wants to extend incentives to specific activities that lie outside designated zones, and where – as in South Africa – neither the provision of infrastructure nor spatial re-organisation of the economy are central aims of the SEZ programme.