Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif promised on Wednesday that most of the power-related China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects will be completed by 2017. He told local media that billions of dollars worth of projects are being completed, most of which are power-related. Pakistan faces a huge energy shortage. "We cannot thank China's leadership enough for supporting Pakistan. This has never happened before in the world, except with these two brotherly countries," Shahbaz said.
Pakistan's largest province, Punjab has a GDP of $150 billion, which is greater than those in countries like Hungary, Ukraine or Nepal. Sharif denied Punjab is taking the lion's share of resources, and said it is working closely with other provinces. "What I am saying is that Pakistan's progress is achieved through the complementary role of each province," he emphasised.
Chinese companies will put up factories at a 2,000-acre (8 square kilometers) industrial park in Punjab. Eight agreements and 11 MoUs have been signed between Chinese enterprises and the Pakistani government on Tuesday, ranging from training in acupuncture to cooperation in nuclear power engineering and water treatment.
Punjab delegation, headed by Sharif reached Jinan and also visit Qingdao, in East China's Shandong province, on Wednesday, and will meet with Shandong officials and visit the headquarters of giant Chinese electronics and appliance makers Hisense and Haier. Sharif also highlighted Pakistan's full support of China's stance on the South China Sea issue.