Iqbal says German, US, Middle East investors exploring investment avenues. PHOTO: EXPRESS
FAISALABAD: Minister of Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal, while praising the promised $45 billion Chinese investment mainly in energy and infrastructure projects, has said this economic collaboration with Beijing takes Pakistan a step closer to being an economically strong nation.
Giving an overview of the government’s Vision 2025 at the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) on Friday, Iqbal said he would ensure that the prime minister was well informed about the impediments in the way of implementing the plan in addition to the hurdles encountered by the business community.
“The Chinese investment will play a positive role in convincing other countries to come forward and inject capital into Pakistan,” he remarked.
He pointed out that German, American, European, Middle Eastern and Japanese investors were now feverishly exploring investment opportunities in Pakistan.
Terming the Chinese investment one of the biggest in Pakistan, Iqbal said it also posed a challenge to the country’s capability to fully capitalise on the benefits.
Responding to a question, he said in the first two years of the current government, it had made strenuous efforts to achieve much-needed stability in the country.
“At present, all economic indicators are positive and we are diverting our attention to the growth of economy.”
He called the energy crisis one of the major bottlenecks in the way of achieving the objective and said out of the $45 billion Chinese investment, $30-35 billion had been earmarked for energy projects.
“We have to make efforts to generate surplus electricity to meet our future needs with the help of cheap electricity in order to compete with regional competitors.”
Iqbal added under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, energy projects of 10,400 megawatts had been proposed. Of these, 1,600MW will be generated through hydroelectric power while 5,200MW will come from coal-based projects.
According to Iqbal, $11 billion has been earmarked for the development of infrastructure and with this amount, the Gwadar Port will be developed in addition to the construction of an airport.
He underlined the need for collaboration and partnership with different chambers of commerce, who should suggest how the government could help them in enhancing exports.
In this connection, a task force could also be constituted for preparing a result-oriented roadmap to take exports to higher levels.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2015.
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