Ministry submits reply in court CPEC western route being build on priority

PESHAWAR: The Federal Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform has claimed in its reply to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) that the western route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is being constructed on a priority basis.

The ministry submitted reply through Additional Attorney General of Pakistan Manzoor Khalil in the writ petition of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar. He had sought multiple directives for the federal government to develop the western route along with several other development projects in the province.

The reply stated that highways on the eastern and western routes were being developed as per the planned period in the approved Monographic Study on Transport Planning of CPEC. It said the KP chief minister confirmed during a meeting held in the Ministry of Planning on May 10, last year that the western alignment Dera Ismail Khan-Hakla was as agreed at the All Parties Conference held on May 28, 2015.

The ministry stated that under the western route, a highway from Gwadar to Sorab (650 Km) via Turbat, Hoshab, Panjgur, Nag and Basima had been completed in December 2016 through financing from Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

Similarly, it said construction work on the Burhan/Hakla to Dera Ismail Khan Motorway (285km) is in progress through the PSDP funding.

“A detailed design for Yarik/DI Khan to Zhob Motorway (210km) has been completed and its PC-I had been approved by the Central Development Working Party in its meeting on January 17, 2017 and a loan request for financing the project has been submitted to the Chinese side,” the reply adds.

For Zhob-Kutchlak and Quetta-Kalat sections, it said, a detailed design to upgrade the existing 2 lanes to 4-lane motorway is underway.

“The western route is part of the CPEC Transport Plan as approved by the 5th JCC meeting held on November 12, 2015 in Karachi. The approved Monographic Study on Transport Planning of CPEC where the western route as agreed in the All Parties Conference has been indicated to be completed in the planned period,” the ministry claimed.

“About 285km 4-lane motorway from Burhan/Hakla to DI Khan is under construction,” it said. It added that resolution of the provincial assembly was not binding upon the federal government; however, concerns of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government were duly considered.

For railways, the reply mentions, more than 70 percent of existing passenger and freight traffic ply the Main Line 1 from Karachi to Peshawar, and its upgradation, including existing line from Taxila to Havelian along with establishment of a dry port at Havelian has been envisaged in the short-term planned period.

Besides, railway works have been envisaged in middle-long term including reconstruction of ML-2 from Kotri to Attock City, building a new railway from Gwadar to Sukkur (Jacobabad) and Quetta (Mastung) via Basima, construction of new line from Quetta (Bostan) to Kotla-Jam on ML-2 via Zhob and DI Khan and construction of new railway line from Peshawar to Torkham.

“Only one gas pipeline project from Gwadar to Nawabshah is part of CPEC. Only one Fibre Optic project from Khunjerab to Rawalpindi is under construction under CPEC. Out of the total length of 820 kilometres, 287.656 kilometres (35.08%) distance is in KP,” the reply stated.

“The Ministry of Planning, Development & Reform requested all the provincial governments to provide priority list of special economic zones, which have been shared with the Chinese side,” it said, adding that after the approval of Monographic Study on Transport Planning of CPEC on November 12, 2015 by JCC, all its maps showing plans for highways, railways and Gwadar Port were uploaded to the Planning Commission website.

It said the ministry requested all provincial governments to provide two prioritised projects to be shared with the Chinese side and the two projects indicated by the KP government are Greater Peshawar Region Mass Transit System, which is the same project indicated at 10 (a) of the writ petition and Chitral CPEC link road from Gilgit, Shandur, Chitral to Chakdara.

The ministry claimed in the reply that the KP chief minister along with other provincial leadership attended the 6th JCC meeting and submitted their proposals on all CPEC projects. It said that complete consensus has emerged on long-term benefits of CPEC for the whole country and it has been termed a game changer for national economy and the projects of CPEC are being implemented under a framework agreement between two states.The reply stated that the petition was misconceived, devoid of facts, frivolous and misleading and requested the court to dismiss it.