Moot says CPEC to turn Peshawar, Hazara into commercial hubs

ABBOTTABAD: The speakers at a conference on Wednesday said that the geographical, cultural and commercial advantages of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province would turn Peshawar and Hazara into commercial hubs in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). 

The conference titled “Importance of CPEC” was told that the provincial government had completed 28 projects in different sectors to showcase them in the ‘China Road Show’ in the 2nd week of April.More than 170 government officials, businessmen, industrialists and traders will take part in the event.

The conference was organised by the district administration  in collaboration with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC) here.People from various walks of life, including industrialists, educationists, civil society representatives and government officials attended the moot.

Advisor to Chief Minister on Technical Education and Muhammad Amin, Khadija Ali from Asian Development Bank (ADB),  Dr Muslihud Din, Dr Ejaz Ghani, Adnan Akram from Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Hussan Ansari from KPEZDMC, Haji Iftikhar president, small industries,  Lt. Gen ( R) Ayaz Rana and Deputy Commissioner Aurangzeb Haider  were amongst the participants.

Interestingly, no elected representative from Hazara attended the conference.The participants highlighted the importance of CPEC and reviewed the opportunities created by it in the Hazara division.

They discussed the problems faced by the business community, including industrialists to get fruits from the CPEC opportunity so that the gap between government and the business community was reduced. They termed the conference as a milestone and lauded the efforts of the local administration.

It was also pointed out that Kashgar city of China and Abbottabad had been declared twin cities in the year 2007. The speakers said that business community of Abbottabad had developed Abbottabad - Kashgar Business Syndicate in the light of agreement signed with two cities and the CPEC.

KPEZDMC Chief Strategy & Business Planning Hussan Ansari said the KP being strategically located had access to Afghanistan through Torkham border and access to China through Khunjarab Pass.

He pointed out that the CPEC route would give the province an economic uplift and industrial boost.Deputy Commissioner Aurangzeb Haider, in his concluding remarks, expressed the hope that the conference was not only informative and helpful for the investors of  Abbottabad  but would also  remove the doubts in the minds about CPEC.