Former govt draws fire for dragging down CPEC

ISLAMABAD: Voicing utter dissatisfaction over the progress made on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project in the last four years, Federal Minister for Planning Dr Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday comfortably hanged the failure on the previous government’s incompetence and mismanagement.

"No Special Economic Zone, initially envisaged to become operational by 2018, could be made operational till now," said the new planning minister in his maiden meeting to review the status of CPEC projects.

“The CPEC’s delay played havoc on the country’s economy.”

The meeting was attended by Secretary PD&SI, Secretaries of various ministries and other relevant officials.

Executive Director, CPEC, Qammar Sarwar Abbasi gave a briefing to the minister over the progress made so far in executing the projects.

“How pathetic is the delay on CPEC projects, which is the potential game changer for the region,” said the minister while directing the officials to hold fortnightly meetings to review the progress.

“There is zero progress on Industrial Zones of Port Qasim, Islamabad and Mirpur which is unfortunate. When you don’t value your investors why would they come for investment,” the minister said.

In 2017, the excitement around SEZs was so high that all major foreign direct investors were lining up to be a part of it, the minister said adding however, due to the holdup the Chinese investors pulled out.

The minister noted that further delay in projects would not be acceptable and tasked the officials to ensure speedy work.

The minister said it was next to impossible to attract investors if the projects were taking an eternity to complete.

The minister also directed all Joint Working Groups of CPEC to pursue their sector specific projects and initiate work immediately.

As per initial plan, Special Economic Zones under CPEC were supposed to be ready by 2020, but unfortunately, in the last four years, the progress on SEZs remained zero, the minister said, adding that the Interior Division should ensure the foolproof security of the Chinese in Pakistan.

The minister directed the officials to complete Zhob-Quetta Road, initiated under the CPEC project.

“Infrastructural development in less developed regions will contribute towards uplifting the quality of life of the locals and generation of socioeconomic activity,” he added.

Ahsan Iqbal stressed that all line ministries and departments must divert their immediate attention towards SEZs and in this regard, all potential foreign direct investors needed to be engaged.

He also directed the officials to remove bottlenecks, especially in Early Harvest Projects, including infrastructure and energy projects.

“There is a dire need for developing quality human capital that can take advantage of socioeconomic opportunities, opening up due to CPEC,” he added.