ISLAMABAD, Nov 05 (APP):Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Refomrs Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar on Tuesday said the government had taken several important decisions that paved way for finalization of Gwadar Master Plan and preliminary design of ML-1 project, operationalization of Gwadar Port and free zone.
“We made steady progress in resolution of matters regarding finalization of tariffs for the completed energy projects, Gwadar port concession agreement and Kohala hydropower project,” he said while welcoming Vice Chairman NDRC and delegation, at the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting here.
The 9th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) Meeting was co-chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar and Vice Chairman National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Ning Jizhe.
Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan, Chief Minister KP Mahmood Khan, Chief Minister GB Hafiz Hafeez-ur-Rehman, federal ministers and secretaries, Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing, provincial secretaries, Chinese delegation members and representatives of leading companies were also present on the occasion.
Khusro Bakhtyar said that remaining portion of the eastern corridor from Sukkur to Hyderabad (M6) will be completed in BOT mode under the umbrella of Public Private Partnership and urged the Chinese companies to take active part in the bidding process.
He said that JCC should accord priority to remaining portion Western corridor and the provincial projects proposed in previous JCCs.
This year in March, the Zhob–Quetta section of the Western Corridor was inaugurated and now the remaining portion of DI–Khan–Zhob was a priority, he added.
He highlighted that ML-1 was also a top priority project for Pakistan and the stage was set to take the discussion to next level and formulate a joint project financing group to discuss the modalities.
He added that the government had established CPEC Authority which would work as a one window for all CPEC related issues so that “we can fasten the pace of the projects and remove all bottlenecks for efficient implementation of the projects”.
The minister expressed optimism that today’s huddle would be meaningful consultation to formulate the roadmap for cooperation in the 2nd phase of CPEC and hoped that it would yield tangible progress towards the shared goal of making CPEC a resounding success.
Appreciating the warm welcome accorded by the Government of Pakistan, VC NDRC Ning Jizhe said that delegation from China for 9th JCC was the biggest as compared to previous ones which showed commitment of China to take cooperation with Pakistan to new heights.
He stated that high consideration would be given to socio-economic and industrial cooperation in the second phase of CPEC.
He underscored that bilateral economic cooperation would proceed as planned for the mutual benefit of both brotherly countries.
A documentary showcasing the progress on CPEC was also shown during the 9th JCC.
Khusro Bakhtyar said that Pakistan appreciated the Chinese leadership for the support it has resolutely extended to the cause of Jammu and Kashmir.
About CPEC, he said that it will be a gateway for progress and prosperity for a bright future.
“2019 was a significant year for China Pakistan Economic Corridor as several significant milestones were achieved or would be achieved by the end of the year,” he added.
The recent visits of Prime Minister Imran Khan and his interaction with Chinese leadership, he said, had in true sense, broadened and enhanced the scope of future cooperation in diverse fields of agriculture, industrial and socio-economic development.
He said that in the 9th JCC, China and Pakistan had decided to extend industrial, agriculture and infrastructural cooperation to initiate different projects in those areas.
He said that China had decided to investment $ 10 billion investment in oil and gas sector and $ 4billion in local steel sector through CPEC projects.
He said $ 9 billion projects were also approved for railway line from Peshawar to Karachi for providing better transport facilities to the people.
During the proceedings, a ceremony was held wherein Multan-Sukkur Motorway of the eastern corridor was inaugurated.
Gwadar Master Plan was approved and signed.
The ceremony also witnessed the signing of two MoUs; one between All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) and Ministry of Planning for further strengthening the worker exchanges and another on Healthcare between Ministry of Health and (Research Development International (RDI).