CPEC second phase to bring speedy development: Pakistani Minister

Islamabad: ISLAMABAD, Minister of State for Climate Change, Zartaj Gull has said that second phase of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), would bring speedy development for the people of Pakistan.

In a statement, she maintained that Prime Minister Imran Khan will have meetings with high dignitaries of China for boosting the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and other projects during his ongoing visit to China.

The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) government, she underscored, was taking concrete steps for improving economy and other infrastructure.

Earlier in the day, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on CPEC Khalid Mansoor said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has interacted with a variety of Chinese state-owned and private companies which expressed the desire to establish a US $3.5 billion reprocessing park in Gwadar and a $350 million textile cluster near Lahore.

Khalid Mansoor, who is accompanying the prime minister during his four-day China visit, informed that a consortium of three Chinese companies expressed the willingness to build a metal and paper re-processing park in Gwadar within two to three years.

He said the PM held a “clear communication” with National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) staff who assured full support and commitment for the successful execution of the second phase of CPEC while maintaining high pace and quality.

Mansoor remarked that the PM had been assured that the joint working groups in 10 varying sectors would provide technological and financial support for the realization of projects.

He said, during their meeting with the PM in Beijing, the representatives of three major agricultural firms wanted to establish a modernization research lab and a demonstration plot on the Chinese pattern to improve yield and seed quality in Pakistan.