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By APD writer Muhammad Sohail
ISLAMABAD, July 19 (APD) - Pakistan’s Minister for Planning and Development Khusro Bakhtiar has informed the country’s Senate that the government is now focusing on developing business-to-business contacts with China to promote public-private partnership in the country.
“To boost the country’s exports, special incentive packages will be offered especially to international investors,” the minister said
He said, “around 70,000 direct jobs have been created so far under various CPEC projects while the National Vocational Technical Training Centre is doing a great job in preparing thousands of skilled workers required for the second phase of CPEC industrial sector.”
Bakhtiar said ideally Dhabeji and Gwadar Special Economic Zones under the CPEC should be given priority as it was an International practice that there should be more development in areas where there was economic activity.
The minister said upgrading the Railway Main Line (ML-1) is an important project under the second phase of CPEC, which would ensure safe, economically viable and speedy transportation of goods from North to South.
He said a railway connection between Mazar Shareef in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s northwest city of Peshawar is also under consideration.
The minister informed the committee that the Gwadar Master Plan would be finalized by the end of August.
He also informed the house that the government has not shared any document related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Earlier, the Senate sought a reply from the government after a local media published news saying that the government has shared some documents related to CPEC with the IMF before entering into a 6 billion U.S. dollar bailout package.
The minister said, “I am stating on record that no such information has been shared with the IMF.”
The minister added that the Senate committee should play its role in the economic development of the country by embarking upon agendas and ideas which could motivate the government to work diligently for the country.
He said the senate committee should look into issues through the prism of national interest rather than paying heed to false media reports.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
