CPEC fast changing the fate of Balochistan: Deputy Speaker National Assembly

China Economic Net

Quetta: Deputy Speaker of Pakistani National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri said this week that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was fast changing the fate of the Balochistan province.

Speaking to journalists here, Suri predicted that CPEC will end the sense of deprivation in the Balochistan province.

“CPEC will end deprivations of people of Balochistan. The province is fast developing with massive Chinese investments,” he remarked.

Suri maintained that CPEC was equally benefiting all the provinces of Pakistan and there was no discrimination towards Balochistan.

Suri called on the political parties to deepen strategic communication with China to learn from the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s experience of governance.

Commenting on CPEC, he said that it has successfully completed its first phase and has now given a new dimension and rejuvenated the deep-rooted bilateral partnership in economy, society, culture, ecology, and governance.

Earlier, the Pakistani official media reported that work on CPEC was in full swing as the incumbent government had initiated 11 new road projects under CPEC.

Two new projects worth of Rs. 314 billion were also added to CPEC in the 10th Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) on CPEC, according to the CPEC Authority.

Out of the new projects, PC-I of Dir-Chakdara Motorawy (29 kilometers) has been approved and it would be completed within two years at a cost of Pakistani Rs. 38 billion.

Similarly, the 360-km Peshawar-Dera Ismail Khan motorway has also been included in CPEC which is expected to be completed within four years at a cost of Rs. 276 billion.

The projects initiated by the current government included the 331-km Zhob-Quetta road which is expected to be completed at a cost of Rs. 63 billion. PC-I of the project has already been approved and the funds have also been allocated in Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2021-22.

PC-I of another project Quetta-Khuzdar road has also been approved which is 330 kilometer long and is estimated to be completed at a cost of Rs. 81 billion.

Similarly, work on the linked roads of the Western Route of CPEC is also under process. PC-I of 146-km Hoshab-Awaran road has also been approved which is expected to be completed at a cost of Rs. 38 billion. The project has been included in PSDP and the contractor has been mobilized for the project.

PC-1 of the 168-km Awaran-Khuzdar road project has also been approved which would be completed at a cost of Rs. 32 billion. Funds for this project have also been allocated in PSDP 2021-22.