‘Blue economy has potential of over $100b’

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday said that Pakistan’s blue economy has potential of over $100 billion and that the government is launching new projects to develop coastal areas to tap into all possibilities.

Addressing the opening session of the international symposium on Geo Economic and Maritime dimensions of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the minister highlighted that after taking charge, the alliance government has expedited work on the projects under CPEC.

He said during the four years of the previous government, no work was done on the projects in the port city of Gwadar.

“Under the leadership of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the mega project of CPEC was launched by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government – proving to be a game changer for Pakistan,” said Iqbal.

The minister said that every Pakistani citizen will have to work really hard to play a role in the country’s development, and to increase the per capita income in the country.

He recalled that during the tenure of the PML-N government, investments were made on a large scale – “Apart from constructing a network of highways and motorways across the country, it also added 11,000 MW of electricity to the national grid”.

“In 2018, more people were willing to invest in Pakistan,” noted the minister. Iqbal said the government is also focusing on launching new development projects, in collaboration with the private sector, to minimise the burden on the government’s exchequer.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2022.

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