Gilgit Baltistan

Windfall: CPEC Council to build orphanage in Gilgit

Organisation to conduct survey in G-B to build hospitals, schools along the corridor

Creative: Talha Khan/shabbir Mir March 17, 2017

ILLUSTRATION: TALHA KHAN

GILGIT: As part of the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an organisation formed last year would build an orphanage in Gilgit.

Moreover, the organisation would conduct a survey along the corridor’s route to identify where schools and hospitals were required.

“A technical team is scheduled to arrive in Gilgit shortly to conduct a survey,” said CPEC Council’s Gilgit in-charge Abid Baig while talking to The Express Tribune on Thursday.

The CPEC Council had been formed in 2016 to provide financial, legal, tax, security and other services for CPEC-related projects in the country. In Pakistan, it is headed by Senator Talha Mehmood.

Baig, who is also the advisor to the Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman, said that provision of health and education facilities would be improved along CPEC’s route.

“The survey will be carried out in areas where CPEC would pass through,” Baig said, adding that the survey would, “let us know where schools are missing and where hospitals are needed.”

“CPEC is a trade corridor which not only includes roads, railways, oil, gas and cable channels but also the construction of major pilot and model projects [along the corridor],” he said.

Baig added that the CPEC Council had recently completed a survey of potential sites in G-B for extracting minerals and that a report on it would soon be shared with the concerned authorities.

He added that the organisation plans to construct the largest orphanage in Gilgit which would be spread over 35 kanals of land.

“Work will soon start [on the centre] after land is allotted to us by the government,” said Baig.

G-B serves as a gateway to the multi-billion-dollar project which will China to the deep sea ports in Gwadar.

The project will pass through various villages from Khunjerab to Chilas town in Diamer valley in Gilgit-Baltistan where most of the people lack health and educational facilities.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2017.