First China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Cell has been created in Research and Development (R&D) Department of Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) to provide basic information about CPEC in addition to help local businessmen to have direct access to their strategic Chinese counterparts in the field of their own choice.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal formally inaugurated this Cell during his visit to FCCI on late Monday. We have to change our narrative from negative to positive and in this connection business community should have to play a proactive role in addition to establish special CPEC Cells in various chambers to fully exploit the opportunities to include Pakistan into 25 major economies of the world by 2025, said by Ahsan Iqbal Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms.
He was addressing the business community of Faisalabad at Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) here on Tuesday. He said that when the PML-N government took power in 2013, the unemployment was at the highest level in the country and the workers as well as industrialists were on roads. Our foreign exchange reserves were dwindling to 10 billion dollars and international economists were expecting that Pakistan will default in a year, he added.
He said that national kitty was empty and opposition parties were criticising that how will we be able to implement our huge development agenda but our intention was clear and hence we manage to bring a qualitative change and now within a short span of three years, our economy is at a takeoff position. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif paid his first visit to China on July 05, 2013 and signed a Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) for CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor).
He said that this MoU has now become a huge portfolio of 46 billion dollars and all international think tanks are discussing its impacts on Pakistan and regional countries. He said that CPEC will bring a new wave of development, progress and prosperity and particularly the business community should have to prepare itself to fully en-cash its benefits.
Ahsan Iqbal said that there are very few countries in the world which got many opportunities but we missed most of them. He termed CPEC as game changer and said that we have overcome most of the problems within three years. Loadshedding of electricity has reduced from 18 hours to 6-8 hours. Similarly, the LNG terminal has been completed within a record period of 11 months. Our foreign exchange reserves have also jumped to 21.6 billion dollars. Our growth rate is 4.7 percent which is highest in the last 8 years.
He said that our GDP target in next year is 5.7 percent and the incentive offered to industry and agriculture sectors will certainly help us to achieve this target. However, we have to take our GDP to 6 percent by 2018 to achieve the required GDP target. He said that world economists are terming Pakistan as one of the fastest growing economy but we have to concentrate to attract foreign direct investment and to achieve this objective. We have to ensure political stability, security, sound economic policies and reliable infrastructure.
He said that during last 15 years no major infrastructure project has been undertaken. Our critics are now realising that without infrastructure we cannot give quantum jump to our economy. He said that two major energy projects including Daso and Diameer/Bhasha Dams are being developed. Land has been acquired for Diamer/Bhasha Dam and work will be started very soon.
He said that 35 billion dollars have been allocated for energy related projects in CPEC. He said that we have coal reserves in Thar from which we could generate 5000 megawatt electricity annually for at least 400 years. He said that after overcoming the shortage of energy we are concentrating to reduce its cost. Similarly work on Lawari Tunnel has started. Pakistan Railway was ignored by previous governments but we have allocated 40 billion rupees for Pakistan Railway in the last year and the same amount has been allocated in this year budget.
He said that we have started cargo trains which have reduced the fares of trucks at least by 50 percent. It is actually a direct benefit to the business community in the form of cost of doing business. Ahsan Iqbal said that time has come to preserve and maintain these achievements and in this connection government's role is very limited and private sector has to come forward and play a lead role in managing the national economy on modern scientific lines.
He further said that chambers should not only depend on lobbing but they should also fully concentrate on capacity building of its members. Responding to a question about direct benefits of CPEC to Faisalabad, he said that Faisalabad is one of the main load centres of electricity and certainly it will get maximum benefits from the new energy projects completed under CPEC.
Continuing, he said that after completion of major infrastructure projects, economic zones will be established in various parts of the country and our private sector has to work on it by searching potential partners for joint ventures. Earlier in his address of welcome, Chaudhary Muhammad Nawaz President FCCI paid best tributes to Ahsan Iqbal for his vision 2025 to put country on road to progress and prosperity. He said that government should immediately privatise all the government entities running in deficit. He also urged the government to formulate economic policies in consultation with business community.
Syed Zia Alamdar Hussain Senior Vice President FCCI thanked the present government for declaring 5 export sectors zero rated and said that government has attained major achievements. Various economic parameters are in the right direction. Electricity and gas are available round the clock. Similarly export refinance is also available at much cheaper rate.
He suggested that Faisalabad would be declared special economic zone under CPEC as it has potential to set up more industries in this areas. During question answer session Musadaq Zulqarnain, Abdul Haq, Ajmal Farooq, Chaudhary Muhammad Boota, Rana Sikandar-e-Azam and Sheikh Ashfaq raised interesting questions. Later, Rehan Naseem Bharara offered vote of thanks while Musadaq Zulqarnain presented FCCI shield to Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal.
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