President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), Mian Zahid Hussain has expressed concern that country's economy has not crossed the annual growth rate of five percent in the last two decades. Our growth rate will be over five percent in the ongoing year but country needs a growth rate above eight percent for few decades to eradicate poverty, provide jobs and ensure stability, he added. He expressed hope that economy will expand by Rs 700 billion until 2018 due to improved power generation.

Many power plants will become operational by the next year while import of LNG will be hiked by 100 percent which will improve agricultural and industrial productivity to support growth, jobs and exports, he mentioned. He said that Chinese companies are investing US 35 billion dollars in power projects that are more efficient than the existing ones which will help country cut oil import bill.

The efficiency level of existing furnace oil-based power plants is 28 percent while the power plants on the economic corridor will run at an efficiency level of sixty-one percent, he informed. Moreover, US 11 billion dollars are being invested in road and rail infrastructure which will help expansion in the economy.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017