As per news sources, Prime Minister Imran Khan has given directives to relevant authorities to speed up the projects within the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The Ministry of Communications has released a video of the CPEC projects announcing that two major motorways have also been completed.
The Dera Ismail Khan motorway is expected to be open for traffic by June next year. It was also announced that 40% of work on the Khuzdar-Bisma project had been announced. Construction work on the Khushab Awaran motorway is expected to begin next month, while the tender for the Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway has been issued.
Read more: The Politics of the CPEC: Is Punjab being favored?
In October this month, CPEC Chairman Gen ® Asim Bajwa had announced that “We are entering Phase-II of CPEC, which is mass-industrialization, agriculture, science and technology, IT and socioeconomic development. All these sectors in this phase have a potential employment opportunity for the people of Pakistan. The prime minister always emphasizes two things.
First, generate local employment so that our people are not required to go abroad. We have a huge youth bulge; we want to utilize them and make them productive. Secondly, he wants prosperity to spread across the masses for the common people of Pakistan. CPEC is entirely focused on that in the best interest of the people of Pakistan.”
Work on the second phase of the Swat motorway will commence next month, according to the communication ministry’s details.
Federal Minister for Communication Murad Saeed said that CPEC is a game gender for Pakistan and the region and shows the friendship depth between Pakistan and China.
He added that people are getting better travel facilities while foreign investment is increasing in Pakistan through CPEC.
Murad thanked Pakistan and China workers, experts, and special security forces for ensuring foolproof security of the mega projects.
Federal Minister for Communication Murad Saeed said that CPEC is a game-changer for Pakistan and the region and shows friendship depth between Pakistan and China. #CPEC #BRI @zlj517 @CathayPak @WangXianfeng8 @AsimSBajwa @PakAmbChina @zhang_heqing @AmbNong https://t.co/wMsh8rU5jX
— CPEC Official (@CPEC_Official) December 18, 2020
Newer projects such as the Sukkur-Hyderabad, Mangla-Mirpur, Giglt Shandoor Chitral motorway, and others will be sent to the JCC after approval from the Joint Working Group (JWB)
JWG meeting expresses satisfaction over progress of CPEC projects
A meeting of Joint Working Group (JWG) on Socio-economic Development under CPEC Framework was held on November 4th, 2020 via video link, to discuss and review the projects under the US $1 billion Chinese grant. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Boqing, Vice Chairman, China International Development & Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) from the Chinese side, and Mr. Mathar Niaz Rana, Secretary, Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives from the Pakistani side.
Read more: How PML-N’s anti-establishment narrative is quietly harming CPEC?
Both sides expressed satisfaction over the projects being undertaken under this JWG in key areas of agriculture, education, health, poverty alleviation, and vocational training. Pakistan side appreciated the assistance provided by the Government of the People Republic of China for socioeconomic uplift of the country and also acknowledged the support extended during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the medical equipment & supplies. It was highlighted that the socio-economic cooperation between the two countries is as per the vision of the two leaderships.
The meeting reviewed the progress of fast-track and priority projects. The projects including agriculture technology laboratories, provision of equipment & tools and demonstration stations in the agriculture sector, smart classroom project and overseas student scholarship program in the education sector, Pakistan Vocational Schools Equipment and solarization project in Balochistan in addition to drinking water supply project for AJK & KP were reviewed with satisfaction.
Moreover, Pak-China Friendship Hospital, Vocational-Technical School, and desalination plant in Gwadar were also discussed. It was reiterated to implement these on-going projects as per the decided timelines.
GVS News Desk