Reiterating government’s resolve of not compromising on development of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiyar said the government will soon establish CPEC Authority to speed up work on projects under it.
The authority will help strengthen country’s endeavors to achieve economic targets and enhance regional connectivity, Khusro said while addressing a press conference along with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information Firdous Asiq Awan. He said the required legal framework will be prepared for the purpose as soon as possible. “We will soon come up with a bill so that the CPEC Authority is established as soon as possible,” he added.
The minister said the authority will be established after upgrading the existing CPEC infrastructure in the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform, adding that skillful human resource will be hired for the purpose to run it on modern lines and strengthen the capabilities to achieve the set targets.
He said one of the purposes of establishing the authority is to speed up work on different projects under the long-term CPEC Plan 2030. He said the $230 million Gwadar Airport has already been inaugurated, while the work on water plant, Gwadar Vocational Training Institute and hospital is underway.
The minister said the CPEC is the manifestation of long-term relations between China and Pakistan. He said by the end of October this year, his Chinese counterpart along with a delegation will visit Islamabad to attend the ninth annual Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) on CPEC.
Khusro Bakhtyar said the government, this year, will also start work on the most important $8.5 billion railway project of CPEC for up-gradation of Main Line 1 (ML-1). He said the Multan-Sukkur motorway is set to be opened in August this year while the Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway will also be completed soon.
He said in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2019-20, the government has set aside funds for completion of Western Route of CPEC. He said due to crisis in Pakistan’s energy sector, the international investors are reluctant to come to Pakistan, however at this difficult stage, the all-weather friend China came forward and invested heavily in Pakistan’s power sector to bring the country out of crisis.
He said now the government-to-government focus is being shifted to business-to-business focus and private sector will be engaged in the mega projects of the country in order to ease out budget pressure on government besides developing the small and medium enterprises of the country.
Khusro said recently, a high-level Chinese business delegation visited Pakistan and committed to invest around $5 billion in the industrial sector of the country. To another question, the minister said that Pakistan’s balance of payment issue can be resolved by relocation of Chinese industry in Pakistan which will help producing value-added export-oriented products to boost exports.
