ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has asked China to include at least four industrial zones in the first phase of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).<\/p>\n
\u201cChina wanted to establish three industrial zones in the first phase of CPEC, however, I have requested them to establish four industrial zones because Pakistan has four provinces and every province must get one industrial zone in the first phase,\u201d official sources said quoting the Federal Minister for Planning Development and Reforms, Ahsan Iqbal.<\/p>\n
Ahsan Iqba chaired the meeting, which was attended by KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Asad Qaisar, Speaker KP Assembly, Opposition Leader in KP Assembly, Parliamentary Leaders in provincial assembly, MNAs and Senators from KP. Linkages of parts of KP with Western Route as well as development of industrial economic zones were discussed in the meeting.<\/p>\n
The KP team was also informed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will inaugurate the Burhan-D.I.Khan section of Western Route on May 17, the source told The Nation.<\/p>\n
The federal planning minister asked the KP delegation to provide three or four prospective sites for the industrial zones, so they will choose one for the implementation in first phase, the source said.<\/p>\n
The sources further said that during the meeting some parliamentarians of the KP have expressed their reservations over Western Route completely bypassing Karak, Kohat and other backward areas of the province. The KP parliamentarians said that the western route is not even touching those backward areas and, therefore, they cannot benefit from the project, the source said.<\/p>\n
Ahsan Iqbal told the parliamentarians that for the better connectivity of the backward areas of KP with the Western route the government will upgrade the Indus Highway and Kohat-Jund on priority basis. Both the projects will be included in PSDP-2016-17, the federal minister said.<\/p>\n
Ahsan Iqbal asked the KP parliamentarians that they are implementing the decisions made in the All Parties Conference, convened by Prime Minister last year, the source said. \u201cIf the KP parliamentarians are not satisfied with the decision made in the APC, of May 2015, they can convene another APC,\u201d the source quoted Ahsan Iqbal as saying.<\/p>\n
However, KP chief minister and some other provincial parliamentarians fully endorsed the decisions of the previous APC and also convinced their fellow members in this regard, the source added.<\/p>\n
The Chairman NHA informed the meeting that during past one year they have completed the paper work of the western route, in the light of the APC\u2019s decision, and now it\u2019s ready for implementation. \u201cIf at this stage another APC is convened, the western route will be delayed for another year,\u201d the sources said quoting the Chairman NHA.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, an official statement said that federal government and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa leadership vowed to implement CPEC projects in the province on fast track basis after developing complete consensus on them.<\/p>\n
The KP delegation expressed satisfaction over the implementation of All Parties Conferences decisions on Western Route and resolved to move on others projects through mutual coordination. It was agreed that work on western route is progressing according to consensus of May 28, 2015 in APC.<\/p>\n
Indus Highway up-gradation will be prioritized and Kohat-Jund Road will be included in PSDP-2016-17. The meeting was informed that Peshawar-DI Khan section of Railway is covered under CPEC .<\/p>\n
The Coordination Committee will brief representatives of provinces about working to technical group of CPEC. Ahsan Iqbal allayed the concerns of KP leadership on western route and said that CPEC is a national project and it is responsibility of all provinces and regions to work jointly to make it a success.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should be mindful that some forces don\u2019t want to see CPEC to become successful. Therefore we need to work more closely, he urged. Ahsan Iqbal assured KP committee that the federal government would implement the consensus reached on CPEC by national political leadership at two APCs in letter and spirit.<\/p>\n
\u201cCPEC is not the project of one government or PML-N government has any monopoly over it. It is long term project upto 2030 and in future four governments will continue to work on this project,\u201d Ahsan Iqbal maintained.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that some key facts should be borne in mind to understand CPEC to remove the misgivings on it. He said China didn\u2019t put $46 billion on discretion of Pakistan to distribute it among federating units. It is portfolio investment with major chunk of $35 billion in energy sector.<\/p>\n
Published in The Nation newspaper <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has asked China to include at least four industrial zones in the first phase of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). \u201cChina wanted to establish three industrial zones in the first phase of CPEC, however, I have requested them to establish four industrial zones because Pakistan has four provinces and every province must …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n