Ahsan Iqbal says original master plan of CPEC to be pursued

Insists no change made in western route of mega project, terms corridor project ‘fate-changer’ for Pakistan

PESHAWAR: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday said the original master plan of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would be materialised as no change had been made in the western route of the umbrella project.

Speaking at the Peshawar Press Club here, he said that he had briefed Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and his cabinet about the original master plan of CPEC and a committee comprising senior ministers of the province had been constituted to monitor the execution of the project.

“I have answered the 14 points of Chief Minister Pervez Khattak concerning his reservations about changing the western route of CPEC,” he said. He added that no changes could be made in the project without consulting the provinces.

He said that stability in the energy sector would be crucial as frequent and powerful electricity supply would be needed to make the project a success.The minister clarified that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the construction work on a missing section of a road leading from Quetta to Gwadar, but it was mistaken for changing the western route of the project. He added that the original master plan of CPEC could be seen at www.pc.gov.pk

“At the initial stage, dilapidated conditions of roads connecting Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab would be improved and missing sections of highways would be constructed so that the industrial zones and corridors could be established,” he maintained.

Citing proposed benefits of CPEC, Ahsan Iqbal said that Afghanistan, Central Asian   Republics and Mongolia were asking Pakistan to get them shares in the project for boosting their economy.

He lamented that political point-scoring was being made on such a mega project and termed this as an obstacle in the progress of national economy. He added that misconceptions about CPEC in the media should be removed.He said the provinces would get equal share in the project and no discrimination would be made.

“The CPEC is not a game changer, but a ‘fate-changer’ for the entire country in terms of economic development,” the minister argued.Answering to queries, Ahsan Iqbal said that convening of the All Parties Conference (APC) on CPEC was a major forum instead of taking the issue to the Council of Common Interests (CCI). He described the APC as an open forum for debate for all the political leaders.

He maintained that inauguration of the project was delayed for six months due to the ‘long march’ and ‘sit-ins’ staged by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Islamabad.The minister said the federal government was giving priority to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in development of infrastructure and bringing reforms in the education sector.“Two major projects including the construction of Dassu Dam and Diamer-Bhasha dam were being launched to strengthen the energy sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the minister added.

He said that construction work on Munda and Kurram Tangi dams would be started soon as the PCs-I for these projects were being reviewed for approval by the planning and development department. He added that the Higher Education Commission had started a number of projects and scholarship programmes for students of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.  He concluded that underdeveloped areas would be put on track of development under the Vision 2025 programme.