KP delegation to visit China in August

CM says govt making efforts to woo Chinese investors

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Sunday said that the provincial government would showcase its potential advantages in the Chinese market during a visit to China in August this year.

He was presiding over a meeting to sketch out the imminent visit of the delegation to China, said an official handout.Provincial Minister for Education Muhammad Atif Khan, Chief Secretary Amjad Ali Khan, administrative secretaries of Home, Finance and Irrigation department, CEO KPOGCL, chief executive of PEDO and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade attended the meeting.

The chief minister said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was replete with natural resources and his government was going all-out to explore, exploit and market these advantages. He said the provincial government would offer incentives to the potential investors to invest and get more dividends.

He maintained that his government had planned to facilitate potential investors through one-window operation. Pervez Khattak said that the PTI-led government had tracked the province towards a rapid industrialisation.

“The province is about to use its natural gas and hydel potential properly for the benefit of the people,” he added. The chief minister said that the overall vision, his government had for development of the province, would bring about a change in the life of the poor.

“The poor will have employment. They would have more earnings and would have better future prospects, which will lead the province to stand on its own feet,” he said. He added that the delegation visiting China would explore possibilities of circular railway around Peshawar. He said the delegation would implement a plan and the quality of the railway track and transportation would be better than Orange Line in Punjab.

Pervez Khattak said that the delegation would negotiate government-to-government power generation of 225 megawatt going up to 500 megawatt. In the first phase, he said, the Chinese government in collaboration with KP government will set a power generation plant of 225 megawatt.

“This would serve energy needs of many industrial setups and the industrial estates to be made by government of China for Chinese investors,” he maintained. “Since the industrial estate will be established by China, it will market the industrial estates and encourage the Chinese companies to invest in KP,” he went on to add.

Pervez Khattak said that steel, garments and other sectors were in the priority list of industries. “Rates of Chinese labour has risen up to US 4000 dollars while that of Pakistan is US 1500 dollars, which makes Pakistan more attractive for labour intensive industries,” he highlighted.

He said the visit would explore possibilities of bringing Chinese automobile manufacturers to Pakistan. “Since Pakistan has huge potential in automotive sector and breaking the monopoly of Japanese cars, the delegation will try to highlight opportunities of Pakistani market,” he concluded.