He said this at the 5th Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) session of the CPEC earlier yesterday, where four memoranda of understanding were also signed.
Iqbal spent a busy day in Karachi. He also visited the Karachi Press Club (KPC) later in the evening to brief media on the current developments on CPEC. Perhaps, the most interesting remark he made there was that the Chinese government has shown its desire to shift some Chinese industries to Pakistan.
“Due to the rising cost of production there, the Chinese government and its private sector want to shift some industries to Pakistan,” he said. “Chinese want to start joint ventures in Pakistan in sectors like engineering, light engineering, automobiles, textiles and cement.”
To realise new Chinese investment, Pakistan and China have constituted a working group to do joint feasibility studies. Pakistan will also setup 25 industrial zones in all the four provinces of the country, he added.
The federal government is trying to improve social sector development along with energy, infrastructure and transport to link developed areas with less fortunate ones, he said.
Speaking about major infrastructure projects under CPEC, he said the Fifth JCC session has decided a complete overhauling of the main railway track from Peshawar to Karachi at an investment of $5 billion. It has been decided to first complete the Karachi-Hyderabad and Lahore-Multan railway routes in two-and-a-half years while the whole track will be renovated in five years. This will increase the speed of the trains from current 60-80 km to 140-160 km, he informed.
Minister emphasised that long term plan for the corridor should be developed in a comprehensive manner including utilisation of spatial planning, identifying the needs of improvement in various forms and means of communication, focusing on industrial and agricultural cooperation, which should be in the interest of both countries.
“In the backdrop of our facilitation agreement, we had to jointly manage the completion of the project as per energy planning timelines. Necessary implementation steps and technical formalities have almost been completed.
It is essential that commercial contracts for the two big transport infrastructure early harvest projects, KKH Phase-II Thakot-Havelian section and KLM Multan-Sukhur section, are concluded at the earliest.
On Gwadar, the minister said it is the gateway of CPEC and we need to work together for implementation of identified initiatives.
The minister said that handling over of land for development of free zone has just taken place, which is a milestone in CPE
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has asked the centre and the Chinese government to include the Hyderabad-Sukkur section of the motorway and Keti Bunder port in the CPEC.
Shah said the Hyderabad-Sukkur section was in a dilapidated condition, adding that Keti Bunder port could also play a major role in regional connectivity. “We request the federal government and Chinese authorities to look into the matter,” said the chief minister.
