‘Friends happy, foes perturbed over CPEC’

 Shahbaz reviews Sahiwal Coal Power project; Chinese envoy lauds vision of Shahbaz Sharif on speedy completion of ongoing CPEC projects

LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday paid a surprise visit to 1,320-megawatt coal power project being set up in Qadirabad near Sahiwal.

The chief minister said friends of Pakistan were happy while its enemies were perturbed over projects like the Sahiwal Coal Power Project and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. He said that progress and prosperity of Pakistan and China depended on CPEC projects as such projects. He said the economy of Pakistan was improving and employment opportunities being created.

He also presided over a meeting at the project site and reviewed the pace of implementation. The chief minister witnessed exercises of the Special Protection Unit and talked to officials. Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong and Consul General Yu Boren were also present on the occasion.

According to a handout, Shahbaz Sharif reviewed the pace of work on the Sahiwal Coal Power Project and described the progress made so far as amazing. He also inspected a large generator installed at the fifth storey. Chinese experts gave a briefing to the chief minister on the speed of implementation of the project as well as informed him about technical aspects.

Speaking on the occasion, Shahbaz Sharif said that friends of Pakistan were happy while its enemy was perturbed over projects like Sahiwal Coal Power Project and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. He said that progress and prosperity of Pakistan and China depended on CPEC projects as such projects also planned the future. He said that economy of Pakistan was improving and employment opportunities were being created. He said that energy crisis would soon be overcome and all these successes were the result of ongoing CPEC projects with the cooperation of China.

The chief minister said that under-construction 1,320 megawatts coal power plant in Sahiwal would be completed by June 2017 and would be the first project in the energy sector to be completed in a record period. He said a new history was being written through the completion of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Sahiwal Coal Power Project. He said completion of the project would result in decrease in outages while employment opportunities would increase. He inspected exercises of Special Protection Unit set up for the protection of the plant and Chinese engineers and staff. Talking to the officials of the unit, he stressed upon them to perform their duties with commitment and efficiency.

Earlier, addressing a meeting at the project site, Shahbaz Sharif said that the Pakistani nation is thankful to the Chinese government and people for launching the CPEC projects and helping in overcoming the energy crisis. He said that safety of Chinese engineers and labourers working in Pakistan was the responsibility of the government and no laxity would be tolerated in this regard. Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong described Sahiwal Coal Power Project as a milestone in mutual cooperation between China and Pakistan and said it was a role model for the projects being completed under CPEC. He said the project would be completed within time-frame and it would be up to international environment standards. He said that the project would result in job opportunities for local population as well as economic progress of the area. He appreciated the vision of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif regarding speedy completion of ongoing CPEC projects in the province and said that it was helping in implementation of Sahiwal Coal power project. He said that Chinese government and companies were also transferring technical expertise to Pakistan.

Chinese Ambassador assured that cooperation with Pakistan would be continued in all sectors for economic development. Chinese engineers and staff expressed satisfaction over the facilities provided by the Punjab government at the project site. Shahbaz Sharif also gave away gifts to the Chinese working on the project.