PROJECTS

Feasibility Studies to Develop Awqaf Free Zones in Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Member countries
Client: Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Current)

The project aims to explore the development of Awqaf Free Zones (AFZs) in IsDB Member Countries. The project focuses to combine the elements of Awqaf and Free Zones to explore the innovative possibility of creating Awqaf Free Zones in IsDB Member Countries to promote socioeconomic development and address food and energy security. The AFZs are to be equipped with Internet of Things (IoT) for maximum transparency and verifiability of performance.

The objective of the assignment is to undertake a comprehensive set of following feasibility studies to assess and validate the concept and recommend concrete steps for its implementation:

Phase I: Legal and Regulatory Feasibility

• Undertake a comprehensive assessment of existing and potential legal and regulatory frameworks to create, regulate and supervise AFZs and review the main prevailing free zone models to identify best practices that can be easily replicated with due modifications for implementation in IsDB MCs
• Recommend a model AFZ law and regulatory framework with detailed policies, regulations, and guidelines that can be adapted and customized based on specific IsDB MC circumstances.

Phase II: Governance and Operational Models and Economic and Financial Feasibility

• Evaluate and recommend potential options for the corporate governance of the proposed AFZ including and recommend potential operational models of AFZs including feasible technology platforms such as Blockchain, IoT, and others.
• Develop a 10-year business plan backed by an indicative financial model and sensitivity/risk analysis based on a set of reasonable assumptions.

Phase III: Implementation Roadmap and Strategy

• Develop a detailed roadmap and strategy on steps, activities, milestones, and critical success factors to further develop and implement the AFZ concept.