ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting in Islamabad today(Friday) to review progress on China Pakistan Economic Corridor and settargets for short to mid-term phase, focusing on cooperation in industrial,socio-economic, agriculture and Gwadar.
Minister for Planning, Development & Reform Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyarbriefed the participants on the outcome of the 8th CPEC Joint CooperationCommittee meeting and progress on the projects.
It was decided to make the period as a phase of industrial cooperation,socioeconomic and agriculture sector development. Timelines for thedevelopment of prioritized SEZs were finalized to ensure ground breaking in1st half of 2019.
The Prime Minister directed to make full use of Chinese investors’ visitsthis year, promote awareness amongst investors on Pakistan’s tax policies,market SEZs aligned with its development and ensure ease of doing business.
It was directed that a timeline base policy on provision of utilities toSEZs be prepared at the earliest. It was decided to promote joint venturesin petrochemicals, iron & steel, food and agriculture.
The Prime Minister instructed to form a CPEC Business Advisory Councilconsisting of leading Pakistani business executives to create an interfacewith the private sector.
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The Prime Minister instructed that development of the corridor shouldcontinue with priority to the development of Western Route.
It was emphasized that infrastructure development needs a policy ofpragmatism and due financial diligence. In the same spirit, a high levelcommittee comprising of Ministers for Planning, Railway and Finance wasformed to finalize modalities on Pakistan Railways ML-1-the strategicproject of CPEC.
Prime Minister directed that Pakistan side should finalize road map forpromoting agriculture sector, inviting Chinese companies to exploreinvestment opportunities in Pakistan and leverage agro value chains.
He also directed that the development of Gwadar should be planned as asmart port city to make it a transshipment and petrochemical hub.
