CPEC projects to help redress Balochistan issues: Bajwa

CPEC Authority chairman says road infrastructure will resolve grievances of the province

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa said on Saturday that construction of a road network under the multiple-billion CPEC project would help address the 72-year old complaints and grievances of the people of Balochistan.

Talking to the media during a visit to Hoshab-Awaran road, which is being constructed under CPEC, he said that the development of roads in Balochistan was a key priority of the government to improve Gwadar port’s connectivity with other parts of the country.

He said that over 70 % of development work on the Basima-Khuzdar road had been completed, adding that the project would be completed by the end of the current year, which would connect the Gwadar port with other parts of the country.

“Today, we are visiting this road construction project, which will connect the Gwadar port with north of the country,” he said. “Work on roads projects is in full swing to connect the port with other areas of the country that would create economic activities and create livelihood opportunities for rural population.”

Bajwa said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would soon visit Gwadar and witness progress on different projects, which had been started under the second phase of CPEC. “Development of Gwadar port is a top priority of Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he added.

He said government was working aggressively to address the issues of people of the province by ensuring basic civic amenities, including education, health, drinking water, electricity and communications, for them.

“To develop the under-developed areas of the province, the government has prepared a development package worth over Rs6 billion, while different schemes in collaboration with federal and provincial governments and under the Public-private partnership would be completed,” he added.

In order to electrify the remote areas of the province, Lt-Gen (retd) Bajwa continued, work on 150-megawatt (MW) project in Gwadar was in progress, besides work on different projects related to clean drinking water were also underway.

“More than 31 dams will be constructed in nine under-developed districts of Balochistan,” he said, adding that out of the total, construction work on 15 dams had already started and the work on 16 new dams would start soon.

Besides, Bajwa said, work on Gwadar Airport was also in progress, which would have the capacity for the landing of big cargo aircraft and equipped with the latest communications techniques for fastest port operation.

The CPEC Authority chairman said that the Gwadar port would bring the economic revolution and social prosperity in the province, adding that remote regions would be developed for bringing them at par with other developed areas of the country.