ISLAMABAD – Chinese President Xi Jinping to inaugurate CPEC phase II megaproject in Pakistan.
Rashkai Special Economic Zone of China Pakistan Economic Corridor wouldfinally be inaugurated in May or early June by Chinese President XiJinping, who is planning a visit to Pakistan by mid of this year.
This was disclosed by the Board of Investment (BoI) Secretary Omer Rasulwhile addressing a ‘Dialogue on Industrial Cooperation under CPEC and SEZsFramework’ on Tuesday.
“Since a successful contract between the Economic Zones Development andManagement Company and the state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation(CRBC) has been signed to develop the Rashkai Special Economic Zone (RSEZ),the work on the first SEZ under CPEC will start in a month,” the BoIsecretary said.
He said the government would ensure availability of utility services alongwith the infrastructure at the SEZ in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within next onemonth while practical work on the first phase of the zone would be startedby the mid of this year.
“We are committed to providing over 60 MW to the zone in one year,” hesaid, adding that the Punjab government was also doing good job ondevelopment of M3 SEZ in Faisalabad.
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He said among the three priority zones, Dhabeji SEZ would be the best zonebecause of its location.
He admitted that bureaucratic hurdles, complicated procedures of approvingthe project and PC-I, involvement of multiple departments in the executionof the project and fear of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) wereamong the major hurdles which cause delays in the execution of any projectin the country.
As per the plan, Rashakai SEZ, located in Nowshera district, will be spreadover 778 acres of land and will be developed in three phases over sixyears.
It was earlier planned to be inaugurated in November 2019 but delayed forthe absence of utility services and contract with the Chinese developer.
