News Analysis |
Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal, has announced that the long-term plan (LTP) for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that was signed on November 21st will be made public on December 18th. In June this year, Ahsan Iqbal, made a commitment that the will be revealed soon.
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Independent observers had demanded since the initiation of this multi-billion dollar project that its details should be made public. The CPEC, which was initially worth $46 billion is now a $62 billion dollar project. The major portion of this amount, $34 billion, has been allocated for energy projects. $16 billion has been allocated for infrastructural projects, while the remaining amount has been allocated for other projects such as Lahore Orange Line, Gas pipeline from Gwadar to Nawabshah etc.
Ahsan Iqbal expressed hope that the future governments will continue to work on this game-changer project and make it successful.
The progress on infrastructural projects is on schedule. Major portion of the Hyderbabad-Karachi motorway, road networks in Baluchistan and a motorway from Hasan Abdal to Haripur is almost completed. Moreover, energy shortages in Pakistan have also been controlled to a great extent, which indicate that the progress on energy projects is also satisfactory.
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The year 2018 was set as a target of achieving short-term goals relating to the energy sector. The government has claimed that it has achieved its targets for the FY2018 and is now focusing on the LTP projects, which will mainly be focused on infrastructural projects chief being Gwadar-Nawabshah pipeline, motorway and the renovation of Peshawar-Karachi railway track.
Independent observers had demanded since the initiation of this multi-billion dollar project that its details should be made public.
Ahsan Iqbal expressed hope that the future governments will continue to work on this game-changer project and make it successful. He also pointed out the challenges being faced by CPEC. He assured that the government is taking steps to ensure the safety and security of workers. The killing of 15 FWO workers in Baluchistan last month once again brought the security aspect to the limelight. While stressing on the security measures taken by the incumbent government, Iqbal acknowledged that further action is required to ensure their safety.