PM Imran Khan orders to resolve electricity issue in CPEC hubs
China Economic Net
Islamabad, July 30: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered to resolve the severe electricity crisis in Gwadar and Makran on priority basis, said a top businessperson who met the PM.
Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Mir Naveed Jan Baloch said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had shown seriousness to resolve these problems.
He said Gwadar and Makran areas faced severe electricity crisis, resulting in unemployment and closure of industries.
Mir Naveed Jan Baloch Gwadar and Makran were the hubs of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) but the bureaucracy was demonstrating slackness.
“Technical delay is not affordable if the business community of Pakistan is serious about running Pakistan in the right direction at the right time, he said, adding that resolution of these issues in Gwadar is the need of the hour,” he said.
As CPEC is the backbone of the country’s economy, and despite government’s efforts to provide electricity to the area, including CPEC-related projects in Gwadar, the authorities have failed to implement the prime minister’s directives so far, he added.
Baloch said Gwadar is the main hub of industry and investment in CPEC projects and due to its strategic importance, concrete efforts are needed to resolve the problems being faced by the industrialists and investors in the region.
“Due to unavailability of electricity, most of the Gwadar industries, especially fisheries and ice factories have been shut down,” he said.
Baloch reminded that the government of Pakistan used to purchase electricity from Iran and distribute it in Gwadar, but for a long time it has been disconnected.
“Pakistan and Iran had signed an electricity supply agreement but that is still awaiting implementation. We demand of the government to resolve our problems on a priority basis,” he remarked.
Baloch pointed out that the Gwadar Port was functional but “lack of basic facilities is hampering the economic activities.”
