Scope of CPEC expands with social sector development

KARACHI: Federal Minister Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal said on Thursday that the scope of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been enlarged by including social sector development along with energy, infrastructure, and transport.
“We have proposed to the Chinese delegation to include Diamer-Bhasha Dam project in the CPEC,” Iqbal said, adding, “The land for the project has already been acquired with a cost of $1.0 billion and the owners were being paid.”
He informed that China had expressed interest and was willing to move its automobile, light engineering, textile industries in Pakistan, for which Pakistan was developing 25 industrial zones all over the country.
Ahsan Iqbal said that the development of CPEC would not only help in achieving China’s growth momentum but also accelerate Pakistan’s growth rate, bearing peace, harmony and progress as a fruit of this friendship.
The minister emphasised that a long term comprehensive plan was must for the corridor, including spatial planning, forms and means of communication, industrial and agricultural cooperation, which should be in the interest of both countries.
Further, the need was to establish industrial parks, improve employment and livelihood, identify tourism prospects, utilise efficient and effective methods for conservation of resources including water, and to identify ways and means of financial cooperation ensuring the implementation of all these projects, he said.
Iqbal said, “Energy is a big constraint for Pakistan’s development objective and has multifaceted challenges. In the backdrop of our facilitation agreement we had to jointly manage the completion of the project as per energy planning timelines. Necessary implementation steps and technical formalities have almost been completed and for those prioritised, which have matured for completing financing arrangements.”