Ireland created the world’s first modern export-processing zone at Shannon Airport in 1959.
The Shannon Free Zone was established beside Shannon Airport in County Clare. Its purpose was to attract foreign investment and export-oriented manufacturing to a location that had lost some importance as aircraft gained the range to fly directly across the Atlantic without stopping.
The zone offered companies customs and tax advantages, industrial facilities and access to international air transport. Its model became influential in the development of special economic zones around the world, where firms can import inputs, process or assemble goods and export products under specially designed customs arrangements.
Singapore, China, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea later became famous for large-scale export-oriented zones, but they did not create the first modern example. Shannon is also distinct from a conventional free port: the zone was deliberately tied to regional development and industrial investment around an airport.