*ISLAMABAD - Minister of State for Communications Murad Saeed on Wednesday said, “There should be no misconception about the incumbent government’s intention to put the game changer China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and former government’s projects at the back burner”.*
In an interview with the state-run wire service, the minister said, “CPEC and ongoing projects of the ministry would be completed on priority basis whereas no new project has been added in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2018-19”.
He said the ongoing projects of the ministry were given due consideration in the PSDP 2018-19 as Rs25 billion have been allocated for these projects.
“All projects belong to Pakistan not to any individual or political party and Prime Minister Imran Khan is clear in his vision to ensure quality and in time completion of all ongoing projects particularly the game changer CPEC as their completion will guarantee country’s prosperous future,” he added.
A visit, in the next week, of Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9), he said is planned to observe the construction work on the project and it is in the pipeline to propose extension in M-9 from Hyderabad to Sukkur. He said that I have also planned to promote tourism in the regions particularly Kumrat-Chakdara route and others where there are ample opportunities to explore the untapped tourism potential.
He said it is also under consideration to execute all of the projects under Ministry of Communications on Build-operate-transport (BOT) basis.
To a question Murad Saeed said that there was no prospect of any National Task Force to be formed in the Ministry of Communications like the others formed in various ministries.
“A task force was formed to give policy guidelines and research for effective and enhanced working of institutions. Our ministry unlike any other has moved a step forward as it has set its own 75 days action plan and started implementing it which has transcended the level of a task force,” he added.