CPEC projects already in execution phase and expected to be completed by 2020. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD: Even though it has a massive coastline apart from the abundance of energy resources — fossil and renewable — it seems as if the province is not being fully utilised under the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
This was stated by Sindh Minister for Planning and Development Mir Hazar Khan Bijrani, who was delivering a talk on “Progress of the CPEC Projects in Sindh" organised by the China-Pakistan Study Centre (CPSC) at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI).
“Endowed with coastal access and energy resources, Sindh is a major centre of economic and commercial activity and has a highly diversified economy. Therefore, it offers a great deal with regards to the CPEC,” Bijrani said.
“It is not that Sindh is being neglected in the CPEC but certainly, it needs to be accommodated much more in terms of the CPEC projects.”
He pointed towards the Thar coal project — which is at the core of all CPEC projects in the province. The Sindh government, he said, had ensured that the people of Thar are the beneficiaries of the projects, not its victims.
Referring to as an example, the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SEMC) had employed 1,500 locals in a workforce of 2,000 people.
While talking about the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone (SEZ), he said that it has attracted overwhelming response from domestic and foreign investors and is primed to change the commercial landscape of Karachi.
It will help facilitate the cooperation between Chinese and Pakistani companies in the field of agriculture, industry, and energy, Bijrani said.
He also briefed the audience about wind power projects and said that at the moment there were five wind tribune generators which were producing 250 megawatts of electricity in several cities. Another 22 wind power projects are in the pipeline.
The minister said that these projects are expected to be completed by 2020.
Noting that the Keti Bandar Project was included in the CPEC on the recommendation of the federal government, it envisages setting-up of coal-handling berths, liquid-handling berths, power parks and industrial zones.
Earlier, ISSI Chairman Ambassador Khalid Mahmood was optimistic about the positive impacts of the CPEC on Pakistan’s economy.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2017.
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