Govt committed to complete all mega projects under CPEC: Asim Bajwa

ISLAMABAD: The Chairman of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and broadcasting, Asim Saleem Bajwa has reaffirmed the commitment in completing all projects under CPEC. 

A meeting of the special committee on CPEC was held under the chairmanship of Senator Sherry Rehman on Monday, in which Bajwa while giving a briefing said that the work on CPEC has not stopped anywhere, adding that “We had received orders that CPEC is very important to us and no project should be stopped”.

He said that the timely completion of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the government’s leading priority. Asim Saleem Bajwa said that the government has signed more than 100 projects with Azad Kashmir, adding that the plan was to bring in investors rather than loans.

He further said that Kohala Power Project signed last week is a 400 MW project of Gwadar which was stuck due to lease issues while projects are being set up to solve the issues in Balochistan. He told the meeting that the Prime Minister had approved Rs 17 billion for Southern Grid.

Asim Bajwa said that instead of imported coal Pakistan will go for fuel production from local coal resources, adding that a 105 km railway line is required for coal mining.

Bajwa said that they are in talks with the Planning Commission for the railway line. All the projects are being done in collaboration with the ministries, he added.

He said that there are electricity issues in Gilgit-Baltistan, consultations are underway with Chinese companies regarding roads and electricity in Kamrat village of GB.

Chairman CPEC Authority further said that work is being done on East way Expressway and road work is being done from DI Khan to Zhob which will connect Islamabad directly to Zhob.

Briefing on energy and infrastructure projects, he said that construction work of Gwadar Airport has started, it will be a major project of Pakistan, and will cost $230 million. Bajwa further informed the meeting that this project will be completed with a Chinese grant.

The economic zone is being built on 2400 acres in Gwadar he said, whereas, the city master plan has also been approved, the committee was told.

Earlier, PM Imran had said that development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) must be concluded on a fast-track basis and aimed at providing final form to the consultation process on the future plans.

Praising the time-tested friendship with the northern neighbor, the prime minister had said that during the difficult times’ China had always helped Pakistan, and CPEC was a symbol of the multi-dimensional partnership between the two sides.

He also noted that Chinese experiments in the social sector need to be fully addressed, particularly for alleviating poverty and growing agriculture.

Under the second priority phase, the prime minister had directed the CPEC officials to speed up implementation pace on various projects.