Chinese Ambassador donates food packs to NP chief for flood affectees, discusses Pakistan-China ties

Gwadar Pro

Quetta: Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong has handed over food packs donation to the National Party (NP) chief Abdul Malik Baloch for the flood affected peoples in Balochistan

In a tweet after the meeting, the envoy said: “Held a ceremony for food packs donation to flood affected peoples in Balochistan through NP.”

The envoy maintained that he had a positive meeting with the NP leader and had a good discussion on China-Pakistan relations.

He added that the China-Pakistan-Economic Corridor (CPEC), food relief and other issues of common interest were discussed during the meeting.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Assembly member Mir Hammal Kalmati said on Sunday evening that the provincial government had expedited the development work on multiple mega projects across Gwadar, expected to be completed during the current financial year that would benefit the local masses of the port city.

Kalmati, from Balochistan National Party (Mengal), mentioned in a statement that with the support of the Federal government, the project worth Rs 3.3 billion for the rehabilitation of Gwadar was in full swing to set the city on modern lines, which would end the sense of deprivation among the people of the area.

The government had expanded the 50-bed Pak-China friendship hospital Gwadar to 150 beds, which was one of the state-of-the-art medical centres, in order to ensure the best healthcare facilities for the people of Gwadar, he added.

The Indus Hospital authority would take control of the hospital to ensure free medical facilities to the inhabitants of the port city from November this year, he apprised.

Kalmati highlighted that the government had allocated Pakistani Rs 250 million for Gwadar city; Rs 130 million for Pasni; Rs 80 million for Jewani and Rs 150 million for various infrastructure and development projects in the other areas.

He elaborated that the federal government has released a fund of Rs 240 million for the construction of dams for the provision of water to the residents of the district, he said, adding the federal government was taking multiple initiatives to resolve the water issue in Gwadar on a permanent basis.

The roads’ infrastructure was also being upgraded for easy access of the local fisherman to the port to transfer their hunted fish into the markets, he added.

Kalmati underlined that the government had signed an agreement with Iran to get an additional 100MW of electricity for Makran division in a bid to provide immediate relief to the people of the area.

The government was taking steps to connect these areas with the national grid to ensure an uninterrupted smooth power supply, he stated.

Separately, on Sunday afternoon, Director General of Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) Mujibur Rehman Qambrani said the port city has the potential to change the lives of not only the people of Balochistan but the rest of the country.

During a visit to the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), he remarked that the water supply to Gwadar had been increased from various dams in the vicinity, and the pipeline network was also upgraded to meet the needs of the growing city.

Qambrani informed that the purification plant would be completed by March, 2023 to use the seawater at the time of low water availability in the dams.

He told the audience that the new Gwadar International Airport would be operational by September 2023.

A detailed presentation was given to businessmen about investment opportunities in Gwadar, and development projects were highlighted therein.

During the interactive session, DGGDA also highlighted the possibilities of joint ventures with local and Chinese companies in the near future.