A parliamentary panel Thursday expressed displeasure over not release of funds for completion of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects as well as no allocation for construction of western route as promised by the Prime Minister. The Senate Standing Committee on Communication, which met with Senator Daud Khan Achakzai in the chair, also expressed serious concern at what the panel noted that billion of rupees were being spent on a road network in the constituency of a Lieutenant General Abdul Qadir Baloch (Retd), who is Minister for States and Frontier Regions.
"Billions of rupees are being spent on the desire of Lieutenant General Abdul Qadir (Retd) in his constituency while the real route - western route - as promised by the Prime Minister at an All-Party conference is being neglected. The committee should condemn this attitude of the Prime Minister," said Usman Kakar, a committee member who is also parliamentary leader of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, a coalition partner of the government. He maintained that the Senate had constituted a special committee for the purpose but Prime Minister refused to have a meeting with the committee members as requested by its head Senator Taj Haider.
Earlier, secretary ministry of communication Shahid Ashraf Tarar, who is also chairman of the National Highway Authority (NHA), told the panel that no allocation has been made for western and the eastern routes. He further said the Chinese companies are yet to release funds to the CPEC projects. He said the feasibility of two major projects under CPEC, Thakot to Hawilian and Multan to Sakkhar motorways, has been completed and 100 percent investment will be made by the Chinese companies.
He further told the committee that interest-free grants will be provided by the Chinese companies for construction of the new Gwadar airport. The secretary while briefing the committee on various road projects under the NHA, said that 28 projects at a cost of Rs 600 billion will be completed in the next three years, adding there was an increase of Rs 5 billion in the revenue of NHA this year.
He said that an amount of Rs 50 billion was required for the repair of motorways and highways. In its annual report 2014-15 presented to the committee, the secretary said the NHA attracted private sector investment and has awarded three projects worth over Rs 90 billion, which is more than the average annual foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan. Besides this, he added that the expected earnings from the three projects is over Rs 366 billion.
However, the committee members also expressed concern over the early completion of projects in Punjab while keeping the same projects in small provinces pending for various excuses. "You have decided to construct the eastern route of the CPEC at all cost despite serious reservations of the three provinces but paying no heed to what the smaller provinces are demanding," observed the Chairman of the Committee, adding that priority should be given to those projects that need urgent attention as demanded by the three provinces.
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