Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal said on Wednesday that due to delay of some projects, 5,000MW electricity would be added to the national grid through China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) by 2018. Speaking at a news conference after briefing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif about progress of the 6th Joint Co-operation Committee in Beijing, China, on December 29, the minister stated that work on 8,000MW electricity projects under CPEC was started but work on 5000MW generation project would be completed by 2018.

Iqbal said that work on a 300MW coal power project at Gwadar would be started on priority basis and the project would be completed in two-and-a-half-year. The project has been envisaged for ensuring water and other facilities at Gwadar port. The minister said that a water supply plant with per day water supply capacity of 5 million gallons would also be established at Gwadar. All these decisions were taken during the 6th meeting of the JCC.

Ahsan Iqbal said that a master plan would be prepared by the Chinese consultant company within a year to enhance the Gwadar as smart port city. Pakistan and China also signed a MoU to promote the industries of steel, petrol-chemical and stainless steel etc. The meeting also agreed to set up 9 industrial zones in all the provinces, federal and AJK, FATA with one principle and one alternative side. He said that Keti Bandar project was also included in the CPEC and work on western route is going on quickly.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017