11-member committee on CPEC formed

PM, CMs of four provinces to be members of body that will meet after every three months; Western Route to be completed by July 2018 on priority; industrial zones to be developed with provincial consensus; all reservations about project removed

ISLAMABAD: Addressing the reservations of various political groups on the technical aspects of the gigantic China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project in an All Parties Conference (APC) on Friday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif constituted a 11-member steering committee to oversee the progress on the projects.

The prime minister and chief ministers of the four provinces would be members of the panel while Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal would be the convener of the committee which would hold its sessions after every three months. It was decided in the meeting that the Western Route of the CPEC would be completed till July 2018 on priority.

It was decided that the industrial zones on the corridor would be set up with the consultation of the provinces. The decisions had been taken in the meeting of major political parties’ leaders but PTI chief Imran Khan and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Ahmad Shah were not present in the meeting. 

The marathon meeting was held at the Prime Minister's House under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday and it had developed a much needed consensus about the project. The leaders expressed their satisfaction over the decisions made in the meeting. The steering committee will oversee implementation of the project. The meeting, which was attended by representatives from all the political parties and provinces, was held to allay the concerns and reservations over the construction of the economic corridor. The prime minister directed fast track implementation of the Western Route of the corridor, as all the political parties agreed to support the project. 

The statement issued by the Prime Minister's House on the conclusion of the meeting maintained that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would personally supervise the implementation of the Western Route of the corridor to ensure grievances of the political parties were addressed.

The meeting discussed the details of the project, its route and the setting up of economic zones at strategic locations. It was agreed that the location and setting up of the economic zones along the corridor would be determined in consultation with the provinces. 

Federal Minister for Planning and Development MinisterProfessor Ahsan Iqbal said after the meeting that the project would benefit all the provinces.  The prime minister assured the political leadership that their reservations would be addressed. 

During the meeting at the PM House, Chief of the National Party Senator Hasil Bizenjo played a positive role and said that there was no confusion in his mind and he did not know why the people were confused on this issue. Senator Hasil Bizenjo proposed that the issue of Gwadar should be settled through Parliamentary Committee on CPEC.

Ahsan Iqbal said that work on the Western Route would be initiated after consultation with the political leadership. While endorsing the minister’s observations, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on CPEC Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said that the entire political spectrum had expressed support for the government in completing the mega project as it had demonstrated vision and took decisions in national interest.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the Western Route would be given top priority as it would comprise four lanes and subsequently extended to six lanes. The PTI deputy parliamentary group leader, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, thanked the prime minister for taking the political leadership into confidence on the project. 

KP Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had assured them of addressing the reservations expressed by his province. He said details of the project would be shared with all the stakeholders and he promised that the provincial government would extend full support to the CPEC. Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq termed the meeting fruitful and said that party had forwarded its proposals for the project. He reminded that the project could help Pakistan in achieving the status of an economic superpower. 

The $46 billion project, spearheaded by China, is expected to transform Pakistan’s economy and benefit the entire region. But it created divisions among political ranks in Pakistan after it was alleged that the “original route” of the corridor had been altered. 

According to the PM House statement, it was decided to complete the Western Route of CPEC in the next two and a half years. The meeting decided that working on the principle of 'One Corridor, Multiple Passages', the western alignment of the CPEC would be constructed on priority. The meeting agreed that the location of industrial parks would be decided in consultation with the provinces. Provision of allied facilities and infrastructure would be the responsibility of the federal and provincial governments according to their respective roles. Initially, the western alignment will be a four-lane expressway with provision of subsequent conversion into six-lane limited access Motorway. Land acquisition for it will be the responsibility of the KP government. Funds for land acquisition will, however, be provided by the federal government, the statement said. 

The meeting decided that a cell would be created in the Ministry of Planning for coordination and information sharing with the provinces. All the participants reaffirmed their complete support to the CPEC. They agreed that the new institutional framework would be able to better accommodate the regional concerns in future. The statement of the PM House maintained that if required, the existing allocation for CFY for this alignment, i.e. Rs40 billion, will be enhanced appropriately. The following high-powered committee, to be headed by the prime minister, was constituted for periodical consultation with the provinces on matters related to the CPEC: Prime Minister (Chairman), Chairman Parliamentary Committee on CPEC, Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Reform, Federal Minister for Water & Power, Federal Minister for Railways, Federal Minister for Communications, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, KP and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) chief ministers are the members. 

All the participants reaffirmed their complete support to the CPEC and agreed that the new institutional framework will be able to better accommodate the regional concerns in future, the statement concluded.