A high-level Chinese delegation will visit Pakistan in the first week of June to visit the sites proposed for setting up Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and discuss their feasibilities with Pakistani counterparts. This was stated by the Chairman Privatisation Commission (PC), Miftah Ismail while briefing the Parliamentary Committee on CPEC which met here on Thursday under the chairmanship of Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed.
The panel discussed the criterion for establishing SEZs as well as the establishment of such SEZs under the CPEC. The chairman PC informed the participants that the final decision in this connection will be made in consultation between the Chinese and Pakistani sides.
He said that 9 sites for SEZs have been declared as priority sites under the CPEC and each province as well as Fata and Gilgit-Baltistan have been allocated SEZs. These sites have been identified by the provincial governments and there is close co-ordination between the federal and the provincial governments. The Parliamentary Committee on CPEC said that it should be ensured that the less-developed areas of Pakistan be given priority in development so they are brought at par with the more developed areas of Pakistan. The purpose of the SEZs which are being open to all investors both Pakistani and foreign, is also to attract the companies from China which will be relocated out of China in the coming years.
The Parliamentary Committee on CPEC also directed the Ministry of Water & Power to carry out wind corridor survey in KPK and Balochistan, which is being done and necessary monitoring stations have been established in both provinces. The Ministry of Water & Power briefed the committee that 700MW of electricity of wind power have been connected to the national grid while another 300MW of solar energy is now connected to the national grid which is for the first time as renewable energy has also become a factor in the energy mix in Pakistan.
Earlier the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed briefed the committee about his participation in the highly-successful Belt & Road Forum in Beijing held on May 14-15, 2017. The committee welcomed the proactive participation of Pakistan''s delegation in the Belt & Road Forum led by the Prime Minister which included the chief ministers of the four provinces. He added that CPEC is the flagship project of the Belt & Road Initiative. The chairman also welcomed the new member of the committee Senator Mir Kabeer Ahmed Muhammad Shahi.
The Parliamentary Committee on CPEC decided that the next meeting would be devoted to a briefing by the Minister for Planning & Development on the long-term plan of the CPEC. The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Housing and Works Akram Khan Durrani, Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, Asad Umar, Senator Lieutenant General (Retd) Salahuddin Tirmizi, Senator Shibli Faraz, Senator Mir Kabeer Ahmed Muhammad Shahi, senior officers of the Ministry of Planning, Development & Reforms, Ministry of Water & Power, and Board of Investment, and secretary of the Parliamentary Committee on CPEC.