Government committed to accommodate all provinces in CPEC: Ahsan

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday said that the government was committed to accommodate all the federating units in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects as decided by the All Parties Conference.
Talking to the media after signing of an agreement between National University of Science and Technology (NUST) and Tsingha University of Science and Technology here, the minister said that Rs130 billion had been allocated for the CPEC in the next budget while the government had sanctioned funds for the Ministry of Communication as per its demand.
The minister said that the missing links would be developed while the western route of the CPEC would be completed by 2016. “The CPEC is not just a project to develop roads rather over 70 per cent of the investment would be made on energy generation projects,” he remarked.
He said that the country was facing an energy crisis but any new energy project required three to four years to become operational. By the end of 2018 about 10,000 MW electricity would be added to the national grid after completion of ongoing projects, he added.
The minister said that there would have been no power crisis in the country had if the electricity generation projects timely executed by the past regimes. The present government, he added, was determined to complete all the projects, besides starting work on liquified natural gas-based power generation projects.
To a question, he said that both Pakistan and India should work for establishing peace in the region as human index in the region was the lowest one as compared to the rest of the world. The Indian leadership, he said, should show maturity as any confrontation would not only affect Pakistan but the whole region also. Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif had adopted a zero conflict policy and wanted peaceful relations with the neighbouring countries, he added. The minister said that India had also started realizing that aggression was not a solution to any problem while the world was appreciating Pakistan’s efforts for maintaining peace and stability in the region.
Replying to another question, Ahsan Iqbal said that the government had contacted the United Kingdom regarding the allegation levelled against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in a BBC documentary, because it was of serious nature.
He also expressed grief over the deaths caused by recent heat wave in Karachi. He called upon all the forces to work together for minimizing the hardships being faced by the people in Karachi.
Earlier the minister witnessed signing of the agreement between the NUST and TusPark for establishing National Science and Technology Park (NCTP) at NUST to promote science and technology in the country.