The Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal, stated that expediting work on projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the topmost priority of the government.
He briefed the media in Islamabad on Tuesday evening about the different projects approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and informed that a power project worth Rs. 900 billion at the Diamer Bhasha Dam has also been approved.
Minister Iqbal said that the Chaman-Quetta and Karachi Road N-25 dualization project has also been approved. He said that road infrastructure in Balochistan had been prioritized in the upcoming budget, aimed at providing a well-laid network of roads in the province to help to provide people with better health, employment, and education opportunities. He added that an agreement for the provision of 100 MW of extra electricity to the coast of Makran to overcome the power shortage there will soon be signed with Iran.
The minister said that work on the water supply scheme in Gwadar will be completed by September, and 1.2 million gallons per day of desalination plant work will be completed by October to solve the city’s water issue. He also mentioned that the new Gwadar International Airport would be completed by next March.
Minister Iqbal also stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Balochistan and his meeting with Chinese investors had revealed Chinese companies’ interest in investing in Gwadar.
Furthermore, the CDWP has approved a project for the provision of water to the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said and added that the federal government would fund 65 percent of the project, while the provincial government will bear 35 percent of its cost.
