QUETTA: Chinese officials and investment companies have expressed concernover the ‘hurdles’ in the initiation of development projects under theChina Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and called for their removalforthwith, Dawn News has reported.
They said this while speaking at a roundtable conference on development ofBalochistan on Wednesday, jointly organised by the provincial governmentand the Balochistan Economic Forum (BEF).
The moot was attended by caretaker Chief Minister Allauddin Marri, ChineseConsul General in Karachi Wang Shung, MCC President He Xuping, COPHCChairman Zhang Baozhong, BEF President Sardar Shaukat Aziz Popalzai,Balochistan Investment Board Chairman Rohail Baloch, heads of manyleading Chinese investment companies and senior government officials.
Chinese speakers said that they were facing difficulties to get NOCs fromdifferent government departments.ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD
“We are making efforts to get land allotted for projects but still waitingfor it,” a Chinese official said.
Briefing the media, CM Marri said the Chinese investors and officials hadcomplained about the slow process of government departments on differentmatters. He said the Chinese companies and the government departments hadsome reservations over the multibillion-dollar projects which had beenaddressed after assurance from both sides.
The chief minister said he had assured the Chinese companies that thegovernment would take steps to resolve the issue at the earliest, addingthat some obstacles pointed out by them in the launching of a 300MWcoal-fired power plant at Gwadar would be removed within a week or so.
The Chinese counsel general and investors briefed the government on theenergy and infrastructure projects and the latter assured the former ofproviding full security to the companies.
Mr Marri said the Balochistan IG informed the Chinese participants aboutthe security measures taken on the CPEC routes.
The chief minister said that a free-economic zone had been announced inGwadar and an economic zone for Bostan had also been planned.