Meeting of the PC on CPEC held at Karachi on 17th March 2021

Meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was held today at Sindh Secretariat, Karachi under the Chairmanship of Mr. Sher Ali Arbab MNA. An inclusive briefing was given to the Committee by quarters concerned on Thar Coal, Special Economic Zones, KT Bandar Project, Karachi Circular Railways, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and other projects of Sindh under CPEC framework.

While briefing the Committee, Chief Secretary, Sindh Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah informed that Thar coal had capacity to meet power needs of the entire country. He informed that 660 megawatts generated by Thar coal power plants would be added to national grid this year. He said that there was a popular slogan that Thar would change the fate of Pakistan because Thar was generating electricity cheaper than all other power generation projects in the country.

He invited Committee to visit Thar and see for themselves the development work carried out by Sindh government. Roads had been constructed and an airport had been built in Islamkot to facilitate investors. He said that Dhabeji Special Economic Zone was another big project spread over 1,500 acres of land, which would be used for industries. Dhabeji economic zone was an important project of CPEC which would boost manufacturing and increase exports of the country. He further informed that mass transit network was being laid in Karachi from Malir Expressway, BRT and KCR which would resolve transport problems of the metropolis.

Hon. Chairman Parliamentary Committee on CPEC Mr. Sher Ali Arbab MNA remarked that timely completion of the CPEC projects was in the national interest. Thar coal, Dhabeji economic zone and wind corridors of Sindh were big projects and the real success of CPEC hinges upon timely operationalization of special economic zones and Gwadar.

The parliamentary committee appreciated the efforts of the Sindh government on the CPEC projects and the committee members decided that they would visit Thar soon. The meeting was attended by MNAs Mr Sadaqat Ali Abbasi, Mr Noor Alam Khan, Mr Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Mr Zahid Akram Durrani and Mr Muhammad Aslam Bhootani.