Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa Thursday said the prime minister has directed to complete all CPEC projects on priority.
“The vision and direction of PM is very clear which is to continue each and every project and complete those as soon as possible,” he said while addressing the signing ceremony of business cooperation agreements between leading Chinese entrepreneurs and Heavy Mechanical Complex (HMC) in Taxila. He said all projects which were held up due to procedural delay or technical reasons will be handled on priority.
Referring to some misleading news disseminated by some detractors, Asim Bajwa, who also heads the CPEC Authority, said the CPEC is fast becoming a reality and it has been witnessed by all that even Covid-19 outbreak could not hamper the progress of these projects. He said as per directions of the prime minister, loan burden on the government in phase-II will be reduced by opting business-to-business mode with the Chinese firms who will be invited to come to Pakistan and partner with the companies here for investment. “We are connecting the companies from the two countries among themselves and a new business council for this purpose is also going to be announced soon,” he said.
Under the banner of CPEC, he said a lot of new projects and business activities are going to happen in days to come. He said Pakistan-China relationship and development of CPEC is not restricted to one government but rather it spans over decades. He said a process of mass industrialization is going to be initiated in the country under second phase of CPEC which will ensure self-reliance in various fields.
“We are all set to launch CPEC phase-II in a deliberate, prepared, and in an institutionalize manner with full consciousness of transparency,” he said.
Asim Bajwa maintained that under the second phase, railways sector will be revamped by up-grading ML-1 from Karachi to Peshawar. “Manpower will be totally revamped, underpasses and overhead bridges will be built at all railway crossings, and speed of trains will be significantly enhanced,” he said.
He said latest technology and industry will now be relocated to Pakistan and for this purpose, preferred special economic zones (SEZs) are being established in all provinces. “We are close to signing development agreement of Rashakai in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; work progress on Dhabeji SEZ in Sindh is going well while Allama Iqbal Economic Zone in Punjab has already been inaugurated,” he added.
Bajwa said the signing of agreements between HMC and Chinese companies will help enhance exports and substitute imports besides boosting employment opportunities in the country. The revamping of HMC with help of China will contribute in import substitution and prevent the country from importing heavy machinery from abroad.
The special assistant said that development of agriculture sector is also part of CPEC phase-II and with the help of China, all types of heavy agricultural machinery will now be manufactured at HMC which was earlier used to be imported from abroad.
Speaking on the occasion, Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing said the agreement will help strengthening mutual economic cooperation. He said the second phase of CPEC, China will help Pakistan in building its capacity in various fields, including manufacturing, agriculture and science and technology.
