‘CPEC to help overcome decade-old deprivations’

LAHORE: Minister for Planning Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal has said that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project will help overcome decade-old deprivations of the masses.Addressing a training programme of Sahiwal Coal Power Plant engineers on Saturday, he said that the completion of CPEC project will boost investment and national economy will become stronger in the next 15 years,

This will result in a new era of development with the influx of billions of dollars investment.

The university campuses will be established in every districts of the country in the next three years, he said.

"Our government had evolved a strategy in 1998, but Pervez Musharraf snatched the government. But he did no work on energy projects and the country saw no major energy project in the last 15 years."

"Our government has given top priority to energy projects, Iqbal said, adding that China is the only country, which has made investment in Pakistan more than any other country.

Around $35 billion of the $45 billion under the CPEC have been allocated for energy projects and of these $11 billion energy projects will be set up in Sindh and over $9 billion projects in Balochistan, he said.  These projects will open new avenues for development, he added.