Chinese investment under CPEC tops $30b: PM

Chinese investment under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) topped $30 billion, while the second phase of the mega project would open up more vistas of bilateral cooperation, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday.

Addressing a ceremony to give away awards among the top performing Chinese companies in Pakistan, especially those working on the CPEC projects, Shehbaz said that CPEC had transformed the economic landscape of Pakistan.

Shehbaz assured the Chinese investors of further simplifying the procedures for their companies in Pakistan, especially under the CPEC umbrella and implementing them in letter and spirit.

“We are going to do this under one umbrella as a one-window operation and this I mean in letter and spirit … not just words but true implementation,” Shehbaz told the ceremony.

The ceremony came as the countries recently celebrated a decade of CPEC – a flagship project of the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI).

The prime minister said that China had so far invested a valuable $30 billion under CPEC. “Now we are entering into the second phase of CPEC in which multiple new areas are being incorporated”, including the green corridor, information technology [IT], and special economic zones [SEZs], he said.

The prime minister pointed out that the government had launched the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) , which would comprise all the main stakeholders, including the federal government, provinces and institutions particularly the Pakistan Army.

Read The 10 years of CPEC

 “The programme, SIFC, will dovetail with the entire CPEC mechanism and will be a propeller in terms of Pakistan’s industrial agricultural progress,” the prime minister added.

In this regard, he praised Army Chief Gen Syed Asim Munir, who “personally contributed in this programme in a way that it has no parallel in the past”, he said, adding that the army chief was “totally dedicated to promoting the cause of Pakistan and its people”.

Shehbaz noted that the Chinese government and the companies had contributed towards Pakistan’s industrial promotion in various areas and their contribution had not only led to creating job opportunities and industrial production but also strengthened the bilateral economic ties.

On the occasion, Board of Investment (BoI) Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain said that CPEC had ushered the country into a new era of progress and development in various fields.

Chinese Embassy Charge d’Affaires Pang Chunxue said that CPEC, being the pilot project of the BRI had made remarkable contribution to the socio-economic development of local people.

APP