CPEC projects 'intact and are being completed': Khusro Bakhtiar
He said another project of 300 megawatt has been completed in Gwadar.
(Web Desk) – Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Khusro Bakhtiar on Sunday pledged to take the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to new heights in the coming days.
The minister addressed a news conference in Islamabad and dispelled the impression that the CPEC projects have hit a snag and stated that all projects were intact and streamlined. He said in energy sector, projects of about 4,300 megawatt were under construction and other projects for providing 2,500 megawatt were under planning phase.
The minister said that the concessional agreement of 2016 was taken due to which 19 Chinese companies were ready to invest in Gwadar.
He said another project of 300 megawatt has been completed in Gwadar, and grid connectivity was being ensured to provide uninterrupted power supply in the region.
He said, earlier in March this year, Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated Gwadar airport and the government has also finalised “Gwadar Master Plan” in collaboration with provincial government of Balochistan.
Regarding energy requirement in Pakistan, Bakhtiyar said efforts were being made to develop affordable power generation which in turn would strengthen economy.
He said we would negotiate with China on affordable electricity, including the proposal of constructing Bunji Dam with a capacity of 7,000 megawatts.
Commenting on steel sector, the minister said Pakistan’s current import bill in scrap and steel sector stood at $2 billion and the government’s entire focus was to enhance domestic production to curtail that import bill.
“Pakistan’s total steel production is about four million tonnes, whereas its requirement is about nine million tonnes which is likely to increase as the economy grows.”
In this regard, he said the government would seek China’s cooperation in enhancing capacity of Pakistan Steel Mills from the current one million tonne to three million tonnes to meet future demand of the commodity.
He said this would certainly reduce Pakistan’s import bill in the steel sector.
For oil and gas sector, Bakhtiyar said we would negotiate with China to enhance capacity of Pakistan’s refineries to reduce the state’s import bill up to $1.5 billion.
In addition, he mentioned that the government aims to propose a land-based Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project to enhance gas production capacity up to one billion cubic feet.
Bakhtiyar said the government was trying to complete the eastern corridor of the CPEC by the end of this year and was working on the western route.
He said the ML-1 project, which has been lying in the cold storage for the last five years, would be formally taken up with Chinese authorities to revamp railways network in Pakistan.
Regarding agriculture, the minister said the government plans to formally negotiate a comprehensive framework in the agriculture sector, proposing projects costing $200 million under business-to-business cooperation.
He said fisheries and shrimp farming would be developed along the coastal belt under this framework.
Highlighting the industry incentives, the minister said the government has been trying to make functional special economic zones (SEZs), and formed a business council to ensure joint ventures with China for increasing Pakistan’s industrial landscape.
The minister stressed on the need for technology transfer from China to Pakistan.
He said PM Khan, during his visit to China, will emphasise on giving a central place to science and technology transfer and human development.
He said seven pilot projects were being undertaken in four provinces, including federal capital, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan for such programmes.
Bakhtiyar said joint working group of all sectors, including energy, infrastructure, industrial cooperation, agriculture, Gwadar, and transportation would meet this month and another meeting of CPEC’s Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) is expected in November, 2019.
The minister said the corridor was not only a joint venture between Pakistan and China, but an instrument of connectivity amongst Central Asian countries including Afghanistan and Russia.
