The federal government has decided to remove bottlenecks in implementing the Main Line-1 (ML-1) Railway and the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) projects under agreements reached between Pakistan and China during Prime Minister Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to China.
According to sources in the Planning Commission, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal issued these directives during a special meeting held to assist in implementing recent decisions made by the leaders of China and Pakistan.
The minister also directed officials to put the decisions made at the 11th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) into action and to remove any bottlenecks.
The minister also directed the Pakistani Embassy in China to hold a meeting with the Chinese side to follow up on decisions made at the 11th JCC and during the Prime Minister’s visit to China.
He also requested that the embassy set up an online meeting with the Vice Chairman of the NDRC to review the progress of CPEC projects.
The meeting also reviewed progress on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, which were approved at the 11th JCC on October 27.
According to a press release, the meeting was attended by the Executive Director of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Planning Commission, the Chief Economist, and representatives from various ministries.
During the meeting, the conveners of the Joint Working Groups on Energy, Transport Infrastructure, Gwadar, Socio-Economic Development, Security, Long-Term Planning of CPEC, Industrial Cooperation, International Cooperation, Science and Technology Cooperation, and Agriculture Cooperation updated the minister on the progress made since JCC.
The minister stated that CPEC is a critical national project that has transformed the two countries’ relationship into a strong economic partnership and that the next phase of CPEC will include the development of industrial cooperation.
Moreover, he directed concerned ministries to expedite work on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to attract a share of Chinese industry relocation to Pakistan with low production costs.
Ahsan Iqbal also directed officials to coordinate with Chinese authorities to complete Gwadar International Airport as soon as possible.
“The Gwadar International Airport should be functional before June 2023,” Ahsan Iqbal said while directing the concerned investors to engage their counterparts in China hence launch could be ensured timely.