China greets award-winning Pak CPEC staffers

BEIJING: A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Thursday congratulated 18 Pakistani staffers on winning awards from China in recognition of their contributions towards China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects pertaining to Gwadar port, energy, infrastructure and other fields.

“An online ceremony was recently held to confer awards on the Pakistani staffers working on CPEC projects. We express congratulations to them,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during his regular briefing held here. He said the CPEC is an important pioneering project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and it has maintained positive momentum since its launch in 2013, making solid contribution to Pakistan’s national development and regional connectivity. “We will work with the Pakistani side to make greater contribution to deliver more benefits to the two countries and people in the rest of the region,” he added.

At an online-award ceremony organized by the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, China conferred awards on 18 Pakistani staffers working on CPEC projects recognizing their outstanding services, professional expertise and strenuous contribution to making the CPEC a tangible reality and helping Pak-China relations get stronger despite all challenges, especially the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong and CPEC Authority Chairman Asim Saleem Bajwa congratulated the award-winning staffers and urged them to keep anchoring their role in perpetuity.

On the occasion, the Chinese ambassador remarked that in this year, CPEC projects have achieved major progress despite the adversity challenge brought by COVID-19. He thanked the chairman, CPEC Authority, for attending the ceremony and giving warm remarks.

Asim said the CPEC has become now household in Pakistan and all Pakistanis are in romance with the concept of the CPEC. “In the first phase, energy and infrastructure projects were completed and we can see fruits,” he said, adding that COVID-19 could not affect CPEC progress.

The 18 awardees are Adil Ashraf of Three Gorges Second Wing Power Project, Asadullah Larik of Thar Coal Block-1 Power Project, Asif Ali Unar of China Power Hub 2x66 MW Coal-Fired Power Project, Asif Majeed of Kohala Hydropower Project, Danish Haseeb Khan of Suki Kinari Hydropower Project, Faisal Bashir of Port Qasim 2x660 MW Coal-Fired Power Project, Girdhari of Thar Coal Block-II Mining Project Phase II Expansion, Hamid Ali of Karot Hydropower Project, Manzoor Ali of Khar Coal Block-II Power Project Phase I O&M and Phase II Expansion, Muhammad Nouman of Lahore Orange Line Project, Muhammad Muneeb of Sahiwal 2x600 MW Coal-Fired Power Project, Nadeem Ali of Thar Coal Power Block-II Project, Nirdosh Kumar of Thar Coal Block-II Power Project Phase II, Syed Muhammad Hussain Imam of Gwadar Port Project, Tasneem Hussain of Lahore Orange Line Project, Usman Riaz of

Peshawar-Karachi Motorway (Multan Sukkur Section), Waseem Akram of Matiari to Lahore HVDC Transmission Line Project and Ziauddin Memon of UEP 100MW Wind Power Project.