Gwadar - A Jewel in the Crown

[Neo]

Sunday, June 11, 2006


KARACHI: The first flight of newly inducted 48-seat-plane ATR 42-500 of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flied to Gwadar on Saturday and from there it would take off for Muscat.

Tariq Kirmani, chairman and CEO of PIA, saw off the passengers of the inaugural flight at Karachi. The plane will return back through the same route.

PIA has signed an agreement to buy seven new ATR42-500 aircraft from Avions de Transport Regional (ATR).

The first ATR42-500 aircraft delivered to PIA arrived in Pakistan on June 2, whereas delivery of the remaining six aircraft will be completed by May 2007.

ATR is a joint venture between France-based European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) and Italy’s Alenia Aeronautica, with each having a 50 percent share in the ATR program.

The ATR 42-500’s are replacing the Fokker Friendship Aircraft, which served PIA for over four decades before it was decided to phase it out of service.

Tariq Kirmani said: “After the induction of seven ATRs, PIA will acquire two additional ATRs having a capacity of 76 seats. Three 777 aircraft will also join the PIA fleet in December 2006 and later on in January and February 2007, respectively.”

Like its predecessor, ATR is also a twin-engine turbo prop, but incorporates latest avionics and is powered by PW127E engines made by Pratt and Whitney, Canada. PIA’s ATR fleet will be configured in two class with 10 economy plus seats and 38 economy class seats. PIA selected ATR42-500 after evaluating all the aircraft types available in similar category and made its choice after taking into consideration passenger comfort and operating economics as well as its performance for flying to/from the hot and high airfields.

The first ATR42-500 aircraft will be based in Karachi and PIA plans to operate it to the Mekran coast, southern Punjab and Gulf (Sharjah and Muscat from Gwadar).

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/defaul...11-6-2006_pg5_9

 

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KARACHI (June 18 2006): Airblue's flight ED 702 landed at Gwadar Airport on Saturday Morning with a full load of passengers to mark the launch of Pakistan's fastest growing airlines seventh domestic destination and the introduction of its operations on the socio-economic routes.

On board the first flight were Jalal Shah, Regional Director South, CAA, and Air Commodore (Retd) Munawar Siddiqui, Chairman JS Air, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Airblue's Chief Operating Officer and other dignitaries. The inaugural flight was received by members of the local administration headed by Ahmed Bux Zehri, Director General Gawadar Development Authority, Civil Aviation and Airport Security Force officials, and the newly appointed Airblue Gawadar team.

 

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The China energy corridor raises eyebrows in Washington

By Kamal Siddiqi Editor Reporting

KARACHI: China and Pakistan are looking at the possibility of an energy corridor through Gwadar Port. Under this arrangement, China will source its energy needs from third countries which will be routed through the Gwadar Port overland to China. This idea is watched with suspicion in Washington.

Earlier, there was a talk of such a corridor that would take oil from Saudi Arabia to China through Pakistan. The proposal makes perfect economic sense. It brings China closer to the Middle East and its energy resources. It allows Pakistan the opportunity to earn money in transit fees. It also strengthens the relations of Pakistan and China even further.

However, Washington is being increasingly wary of Pakistan’s new energy politics. Despite repeated public disapproval from Washington, President Musharraf’s government has been proceeding with uncharacteristic speed on the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project.

A lot of the paperwork has been done on this and even India has reluctantly come back into the talks after a period of dilly-dallying.

It is ironic, say many analysts, that India is currently more sensitive to US policies in the region as compared to Pakistan. In the words of one US senior diplomat in New Delhi, India is America’s “newest best friend.” Despite this, India also wants to be part of the action and has returned to the table for the IPI gas project. This is frustrating for the US government which wants to economically sanction Iran.

The dusty and sleepy town of Gwadar is gradually becoming the focal point of the high stake regional energy politics. For the US, the idea of a Chinese built harbour in Gwadar translates into Chinese presence in a sensitive part of the world. This is the shipping lane through which passes the bulk of the world oil tankers. It is strategic point where Washington is uneasy with the Chinese looking on.

The question for analysts is what does this mean for relations between Pakistan and the US. On the face of it, relations could not have been better.

However, cracks are emerging. The US has cut down on assistance to Pakistan. The Congress has started to show its concern on the human rights situation in the country.

There is also increasing impatience over the manner in which Pakistan is fighting militants in the tribal areas. Pressure is growing on General Musharraf to show results. In a no-win situation, the Pakistan government is now seeing the fallout of its actions in the tribal areas.

The growing influence of religious parties, of the Taliban variety, only puts into focus how hard it is becoming for Pakistan to win over support in the area. The religious elements are also becoming bolder in their attempts to take control and dictate administration. It seems that the writ is slipping from the hands of the government.

To add to Pakistan woes is the possibility of an armed confrontation between the US and Iran. If it does take place, Pakistan will be sucked into the sequence of events, no matter what. At the same time, it will affect the prospects of the IPI project, and this is something that cannot be viewed positively considering Pakistan’s growing gas needs.

On the energy front, the US continues to plug for the Turkmenistan gas project, an unattractive alternative to what Iran is offering. Pakistan has said that the US should compensate financially if it were to choose Turkmenistan over Iran. The US has showed no such willingness.

It is rare for Pakistan to put its own economic interests ahead of the priorities of the powers that be. The fact that Pakistan is gradually moving out of the US fold in terms of following energy deals with countries to which the US has reservations is interesting.

It may not be new for the US as allies have done this in the past, it seems like unchartered territory for Pakistan. The future promises to be eventful.

 

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KARACHI: Ships might start calling at the Gwadar Port by the end of this year or early next year, Director General Gwadar Development Authority Ahmad Bux Lehri said here on Saturday.

Speaking at a seminar, organised by Jinnah City and Jang Cultural Wing, on “Gwadar: The Future of Pakistan”, he said the government was looking for an experienced port operator with links in the shipping world who could market the port well.

“The government does not want to hand over the port operations in a hurry, it is looking for an appropriate party,” he said. “If we offer the port operations to a new player and it fails to market and run the port efficiently, then our all efforts would go down the drain.”

He said it was wrong to say that inauguration of the Gwadar Port was delayed many times, adding that the government had never fixed any date for its inauguration.

Lehri urged the investors buying lands in Gwadar to get the property transferred in their name and report the actual price to the respective department in order to keep their investment safe. He said a strategy had been formulated for the disputed lands in the city.

He informed the audience about the works going on for linking Gwadar with the rest of the country and foreign countries including roads network as well as railway line. He spoke at length about the development activities in Gwadar and said the private sector was very liberally engaged in this process.

He said the investors coming to Gwadar from the rest of the country should prefer locals for jobs as it would improve their living conditions. Besides, “if you hire people of other areas for jobs, they would take month-long leaves to see their families, which would affect your business,” he added. Balochistan Minister for GDA Sher Jan Baloch said the Chinese government had agreed with Gen Pervez Musharraf that Gwadar Port would be deepened further. He said Mirani Dam would be completed and inaugurated by September this year.

He said currently two desalination plants - one for Gwadar Industrial Zone and the other for Sanghar Housing Scheme - were being established in Gwadar while two more have been approved.

“Private sector is handling all these projects and we are now giving NOCs for housing schemes only to those parties, who can set up their own desalination plant.”

He said the Gwadar Port should have been developed decades ago as it always had the potential to become the backbone of the country’s economy.

Chairman Gwadar Investors Forum Sarmad Jan said the policies with regard to sale/purchase and transfer of lands should be formulated on long-term basis because rapid changes shake the confidence of investors.

He said the government should ensure security of investment and appoint well-qualified officers in the government departments in order to attract more cash towards the city.

“Around 90 per cent of the remittances coming from the US may come to Gwadar, if government’s policies ensure the security of investment,” he said.

Nazim Turbat Abdur Rauf Rind also spoke on the occasion.

 

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ISLAMABAD (July 11 2006): The government has failed to implement the Rs 70 billion project to connect Gwadar deep-sea port with the country's main rail network. Despite firm directives by President General Pervez Musharraf, the Ministry of Railways has only managed to prepare a feasibility report in over three years' time.

Pakistan Railways, being economically safe and suited for long haul traffic, was tasked to establish a railway line from Gwadar connecting it with the main network at Quetta-Kohi-Taftan section.

"We have so far prepared a feasibility report to lay a new track that will connect the port with the existing railway network. There are some problems that are being sorted out to start the construction work," an official in the Railways Ministry told Business Recorder on Monday.

It is learnt that officials were considering various alternatives like Gwadar-Mastung link. This would start from Gwadar and would pass through Turbat-Hushab-Panjgor-Nag-Besima-Surab, Kalat and Mastung.

The 961 kilometres route is considered to be the shortest in length covering scattered population in the area.

The official said that one of the major reasons behind the inordinate delay in construction work was the volatile law and order situation in Balochistan.

The route runs through the central portion of restive Balochistan where a number of new roads would be built in close proximity of railway stations.

On the other hand, the proposed alignment between Hushab-Panjgur and Surab-Kalat-Mastung is difficult as the area has steep grades and sharp curves.

The government has already missed the extended deadline of June 30 for the inauguration of the multi-billion dollars port due to poor performance of communications and railways ministries.

Neither the Communications Ministry has done its job by completing required road network nor Ministry of Railway has been able to lay the necessary rail tracks.

President Pervez Musharraf is very eager to open Gwadar port as soon as possible with access to neighbouring countries.

On the Iranian border, the official said, the railway line from Quetta to Kohi-Taftan continues on to Zahidan in Iran. But an additional 600 kilometres railway line would have to be built to link it to the main Iranian railway system at Kerman.

There is no railway infrastructure in Afghanistan and a line from Quetta terminates on the border at Chaman.

 

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GWADAR: Iran is expected to provide power up to 100 MW to Gwadar port from December 2008, the WAPDA sources told Geo News on Sunday.

Iran would charge 6.25 cents per unit for one year, the sources said and added that an Iranian company would launch a project worth $ 26 million for power supply to Gwadar.

Soon a delegation from Iran would visit Pakistan to negotiate power tariff with Pakistan authorities, the sources said.

 

[Neo]

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

WASHINGTON:

The Gwadar deep-sea port will be ready “in a few months” and the government is positioning it as an energy port and hub for storage and refining, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was quoted as saying in a report in The Washington Times.

The report, headlined “Islamabad seeks to be energy hub”, stated that Islamabad hoped to position itself as an energy corridor linking oil and gas-rich countries in the Persian Gulf and Central Asia with the dynamic economies of India and China. “With energy needs growing rapidly throughout Asia, Pakistan’s strategic location puts it in a favourable position to tap this potential,” Mr Aziz told the newspaper in Geneva on a recent visit.
Mr Aziz said that his government was negotiating with Tehran over transit fees for gas piped through Pakistan through the proposed $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. The report said that the US was pressing both Pakistan and India not to deal with Iran, a country Washington considered a sponsor of terrorism.

“We have repeatedly expressed concerns about international participation in energy projects with Iran,” a US official told TWT.
Energy analysts say the benefits to India and Pakistan in terms of energy security and profits are too great to be easily brushed aside. But the US is adamant that a venture with Iran would not be a plus.

“We question whether dependence on a gas pipeline link with Iran would enhance the energy security of either country,” the US official said. Mr Aziz said the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline could also include a spur running to western China. “Other possible projects include the transport of energy from Tajikistan via Afghanistan to Pakistan and on to India,” he said.

The newspaper report said an energy security report from the United Nations prepared for the Group of Eight summit in St Petersburg concluded that global security risks have “increased sharply because of steeply rising oil import demand in developing countries”. “Tightness in the supply situation and the heightened threat of supply disruptions due to war and terrorism are adding to the insecurity,” the report stated. It also proposed the promotion of more investment in the energy sector to meet future needs.

Mr Aziz, noting rapid growth in the economies of both Pakistan and India, said moves to develop his country as a regional energy hub “would be a win-win situation for all”. Pakistan’s economy is surging by 6 percent to 8 percent a year, India’s by about 8 percent and China’s by more than 9 percent a year.

 

[Neo]

Gwadar Export Processing Zone: 100pc availability of 12 goods to local market likely


Saturday, August 05, 2006
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By Sajid Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: The government is considering a proposal to make 12 types of warehoused goods completely available to the domestic market of the Gwadar Export Processing Zone on payment of taxes and duties, a senior government official told Daily Times on Friday.

The official added that at present industrial units located at different export processing zones had been allowed to sell a maximum of 20 percent of their production to the domestic market and to export the remaining 80 percent.

The warehoused goods that will be allowed for sale in the domestic market from the G-EPZ are automobiles, cotton, hide and skins, unblended tea, spices in raw form, dyes, iron sheets, supari, raw materials for pesticides and insecticides, aluminium ingots, aluminium foils and new print.

The ministry of industries, production and special initiatives proposed this incentive for inclusion in an incentive package to promote investment in the G-EPZ. The proposed incentive package for G-EPZ suggested that apart from the above mentioned warehoused goods, the domestic market of Pakistan will be available to 50 percent of production, on payment of taxes and duties.

The official further informed that, under the Incentive Package, defective goods and waste would be allowed to be sold in the domestic market after payment of applicable taxes and duties to a maximum of up to 3 percent of total export value from G-EPZ.

All exports from G-EPZ will be exempted from all taxes and only local supplies will be taxable. The ministry of industries, production and special initiatives is in the process of establishment of G-EPZ at an area of 1,000 acres with a package of incentives to promote industrial development in the area. The Gwadar Port will enable exports to destinations around the world. The income of the industrial units from the start of their production will be exempt from income tax for the next 10 years. This would be a major incentive to attract local as well foreign investors to the G-EPZ, the official added. The said ministry is finalizing an incentive package for investors investing in the G-EPZ, after consulting economic ministries. The official informed that the said ministry has outlined some incentives and the major incentive of a 10-year tax holiday is a part of the proposed incentive package for investors.

The government is also examining whether to allow sales tax zero rating on supply construction material from tariff area to G-EPZ for investors as well as to the Gwadar Development Authority so that the development of infrastructure like roads, electricity, gas and water could be ensured.

 

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Chinese mulling $13b investment in Gwadar

Thursday, August 10, 2006
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ISLAMABAD: The Chinese petroleum industry has indicated an interest in shifting its excess capacity to Gwadar, bringing in estimated investment of $13 billion, a senior government official told Daily Times on Wednesday.

The China Chamber of Petroleum Industry (CCPI) and All China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) conveyed to Pakistani authorities during a recent visit that the Chinese petroleum industry is keen to invest in Pakistan’s energy sector, the official said.

The ACFIC and CCPI indicated that both the public and private sectors should cooperate in energy projects in Pakistan, with the Chinese private sector in particular seeing a lot of opportunities here, the official said.

This cooperation will not be restricted to building an oil pipeline to set up an energy corridor to Gwadar, but also in shifting energy related industry to Pakistan.

However, the government will need to provide strong support to lay down a framework for a safe financial, investment and security environment in Balochistan to attract this investment, the official said.

He said the Chinese petroleum industry sees four potentially fruitful projects. Firstly, an oil pipeline linking Gwadar to Xinjiang in China to set up an energy corridor. The economic viability of such a project is yet to be worked out. Secondly, the development of Gwadar Port Energy Zone, where the Chinese could set up an oil refinery with a capacity of 21 million tonnes.

China has been preparing a similar project along the Yangtze River in collaboration with Saudi Arabia for the last two years, but has now indicated it could shift the project to Pakistan, the official said. Other countries besides China will also be invited to invest in the project.

Thirdly, the Gwadar energy zone could accommodate other energy sector industries. The Chinese business groups said that China has excess capacity in the petroleum services industry and planned to move the excess capacity to Dubai, but was now considering shifting it to Gwadar, the official added. According to their initial estimates, the Gwadar Port Energy Zone could attract investment of up to $13 billion.

Fourthly, the Chinese petroleum industry also indicated an interest in oil and gas exploration projects in Pakistan, the official said. The Chinese business groups had proposed that a Pak-China energy and trade cooperation promotion association be established for such projects.

The association would include members from the oil and gas sector and other industries in the power sector. They had also suggested that a Pak-China joint investment company be set up to finance these projects, the official said.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\08\10\story_10-8-2006_pg5_1

 

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ADB to provide $ 1 billion for development in Gawadar

http://www.geo.tv/news_images/busin...19-484d-b942-d4f908578663liaqt-jatoi_lpic.jpg ISLAMABAD: Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $ 1 billion for development of national corridor which will cost about $ 2.8 billion.

This was stated by Sean O' Sullivan, team leader of the National trade corridor investment programme of Asian Development Bank during a meeting with Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Salman Shah here on Friday.

He briefed the Advisor about the development of national corridor, which will link Karachi/Gawadar to Khunjrab and will cost about $ 2.8 billion.

He said "the ADB will provide $ 1 billion and the remaining cost will be borne by the World Bank and other financial institutions".

Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Salman Shah speaking on the occasion said the commercial and industrial activities should be developed along the road and the revenue generated by the activities should contribute towards the cost of the corridor project to supplement traffic and transport generated resources.

The advisor emphasized that strategic locations be selected for revenue generating activities. He appreciated the project and stressed that the motorway to be built should be commercially viable.

The meeting was attended by senior officials of the National Highway Authority.

 

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Export processing zone in Gwadar planned




QUETTA, Aug 21: The federal government has decided to establish an export processing zone on a 1,000-acre land at the Gwadar Industrial Zone for providing batter import and export facilities.

It was informed in a high-level meeting presided over by Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Mir Mohammad Yousuf here on Sunday. The meeting discussed various projects for the provision of basic infrastructure at the industrial zone.

Gwadar Industrial Zone project director M.B. Magsi briefed the meeting about the progress so far made at the zone and said setting up of industries would commence by February 2007 and allottees would get possessions next month.

The chief minister directed the officials concerned to hand over industrial plots to the allottees by next month according to the rules and regulations.

He said with the handing over of plots, industrial activities would get a boost in the new port city of Balochistan. He said work on industrial zone projects should be accelerated.

Mr Yousuf said this project had great importance in the development of Gwadar and with the functioning of industrial zone, Gwadar would become a hub of industrial and trade activities.

He said it would also help in increasing import and export of the country and over 50,000 locals would get direct or indirect jobs.

The project director said that the projects for supplying water, electricity, gas and roads would be completed soon.

 

[Neo]

THE 21st century is being called ‘the Chinese century’. Just as the US was emerging as the most powerful state in the world at the dawn of 20th century, China is emerging now as a pre-eminent power.

It has the largest population and the fourth largest territorial area in the world. It has a wealth of valuable natural resources and most important of all is its economy which has been growing at an astonishing rate of around 10 per cent for the last 30 years.

In purchasing power parity terms, China has become the second largest economy in the world after US and experts predict that it will be the biggest after two more decades. This is an amazing feat for a country that was classified as poor not many years ago. It’s future also appears bright as China leads the world in attracting foreign direct investment.

All these figures, however, camouflage the vast regional disparities that exist in China. It is the eastern region of China that is steaming ahead while central and western regions are lagging behind.

As the map shows, most of the less developed areas, with GDP per capita around 4000 yuan, are in the West while most of the developed areas, with GDP per capita five to 10 times higher (20,000—40,000 yuan), are in the East.

According to one estimate, the GDP per capita of western region is only one-third of GDP per capita of eastern coastal region and despite having 30 per cent of population, its share in China’s economic output is less than seventeen per cent (2003).

Other figures show the same disproportion. Ninety per cent of foreign direct investment( FDI) coming to China goes to eastern region while only four per cent goes to western provinces. Industrial performance, exports and R&D also point to the same discrepancy.

The western region of China is not a small area. Its area consists of more than 70 per cent of Chinese territory. Chinese leadership has realised that status quo needs to be changed. In 2000, the State Council created a leadership group for Western China Development headed by the prime minister. The strategy was to invest in education and infrastructure and give other incentives to attract foreign investment in the region. Starting from 2001, Chinese government launched major infrastructure projects and capital construction investment became higher in western than eastern China.

Moreover, preferential policies were offered in terms of development of science and education, capital input, investment environment etc. In April 2002, President Jiang Zemin reiterated the importance of western region by saying “ ‘Develop the West’ strategy is of great and far-reaching significance for accelerating the development of China’s central and western regions, China’s modernisation and the resurgence of the Chinese nation”.

But why will the foreign investors go to the remote regions of western China when they can easily invest in the developed eastern regions? Why will the multinationals risk by investing in relatively uneducated and unskilled populace, when they can invest in the regions, which are politically stable and technologically at the cutting edge? And why should investors increase their costs by setting their factories thousands of miles away from the export handling seaports?

Just take a look at the distances of Urumqi (capital of Xinjiang) from various ports of China. All of them are about or more than 4,000 km. With the condition of roads and railways in China, it will take millions of yuans of manufacturers to transfer their goods to ports and even after this expenditure the time of travel is not guaranteed.

It appears that the incentives given were not enough. The latest Economic Development Report on Western China released in Beijing in April, 2006 shows that despite six year of concerted efforts the gap between western and eastern China is actually increasing.

In 2005, per capita disposable income of urban dwellers in western China was 66.7 percent of the disposable income of urban dwellers of eastern China, which was three percentage points lower than the 69.7 per cent, the figure recorded in 2004.

For the rural residents of western China, the drop was even bigger. Their disposable income was 44.2 per cent of rural residents of western regions, which was 3.8 percentage points lower from 48 per cent, the figure recorded in 2004.

Perhaps Chinese government has to offer a bigger incentive and here Pakistan can help China and also help itself. China trade with the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries is increasing rapidly. It is already the largest trading partner of UAE and Sudan and second largest trading partner of Iran and Jordan. Some people will think that this boost in trade is due to China’s increasing appetite for MENA oil but it is not.

China’s exports are expanding. For example, its share of Saudi Arabian market doubled from 3.6 in 2000 to 7.2 per cent in 2005. Similarly, China’s trade with EU is growing; EU is its largest trading partner and has become the second biggest trading partner of EU countries, with two-way trade around 180 billion euros.

All these traded goods and commodities, worth billion of dollars, have to take a trip of thousands of miles to reach their destination. The distance between Middle Eastern ports and Shanghai is around five thousand nautical miles while for European ports it increases to ten thousand nautical miles. Compare it with the distances of these markets from Pakistani port Gwadar. For Middle Eastern markets it is less than thousand miles and for European markets, it is less than 6,000 nautical miles.

As western China is only around 2,000 miles from Gwadar, it makes business sense to make goods for Middle East and EU in western China and then export it through Gwadar. Only in this way can the goods made in western region will be competitive with those made in east and only then investors will be ready to put their money in these remote regions.

Moreover, western China and Pakistan can also serve as energy corridor for the booming provinces of eastern China. It will not only provide eastern China with cheap and secure sources of energy for its rapid development but also provide a boost to the economy of western China and Pakistan.

President Musharraf in his recent visit to Shanghai said that his government would do all to turn Pakistan into an energy corridor for China. There are several proposals floated in this regard. The first one and most likely to be implemented is a pipeline from Iran to China.

The feasibility study of this project is already underway. Another one is to initially establish a rail link and transfer LPG from Middle East to China by using railway carriages, as billions of dollar investment will be required for the pipeline. Railway link will also provide a cheap way to transfer other goods to and from western China, changing it from a remote region to a station that will transfer goods and commodities worth billion of dollars every month..

Western China can develop and come at par with eastern China soon. The problem is the difficult terrain and thinking outside the box, but as Chinese and Pakistani engineers have shown before while making Karakorum Highway, where there is a will, there is a way.

 

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ISLAMABAD (August 31 2006): The Gwadar Port project would become operational within six months, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan Khan Niazi told the National Assembly here on Wednesday. He was answering a supplementary question by Muhammad Hussain Mehanti in the question hour on behalf of Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri, who was not present in the House.

The replies from the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs were criticised by the opposition members, who pointed out that the question hour lacks sanctity in the absence of the relevant ministers.

Earlier, Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain endorsed this irregularity and politely reminded Sher Afgan that the relevant minister or his parliamentary secretary should be present to reply to the questions. Even these remarks from the Speaker could not shake the confidence of Sher Afgan, who retorted, "the point arises if I am not able to answer the questions properly." The question hour started an hour late for lack of quorum, which was pointed out by Abdul Mujeeb Pirzada and Hafiz Hussain Ahmed.

Sher Muhammad Baloch was deeply hurt on the casual approach of Sher Afgan particularly the way he spoke about cold-blooded murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti. Replying to Samia Raheel Qazi's question on the security concerns of the Chinese working in Gwadar, after the colossal operation and murder of Akbar Bugti, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs said that things would settle down in Balochistan within three or four days and security situation will be soon back to normal, adding everything would be fine.

However, Speaker did not allow the infuriated opposition member to speak for long by switching off his mike. Another supplementary question by Abid Sher Ali about award of contract of Gwadar Port to a firm, Dubai Port, without tenders was rejected by the Speaker, terming it irrelevant and not having merit to be a supplementary question.

M P Bhandara from the treasury benches in a point of order asked the Speaker that the question hour is often interrupted with point of orders and Assembly does not reach to any conclusion on serious issues. This practice should be checked and point of orders should not be allowed during the question hour.

To a question by Nawab Abdul Ghani Talpur on making any port duty-free in the country, the minister said that there was no such proposal under consideration.

Answering a supplementary question of Muhammad Hussain Mehanti on the pension rules of Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Sher Afgan said that 25 percent increase in pension of was given to KPT employees w.e.f 1-7-99 who did not take benefit of the memorandum of settlement, effective from 1-4-98.

Further he clarified the pension scheme 2001 was not applicable in the case of the federal government employees. They have de-linked their scales from basic pay scales, which are subject to increase in pay and allowances after every two years as per Charter of Demand, he added.

The minister said notification regarding increase in pension as announced in the recent budget will not be applicable in the case of ex-employees of KPT as per clarifications of the Ministry of Finance that the pension rules of the federal government are not applicable to the employees of the autonomous bodies having their own pay scales.

 

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KARACHI: To cater to the needs of national and international business, trade community as well as tourists, country’s leading chain of hotels owned by Hashoo Group has touched yet another milestone by carrying out its dream project, the luxurious “Zaver Pearl-Continental Hotel” at Gwadar.

The hotel, which is the first ever 5-star luxurious resort in the emerging business hub of the national and international economic activities, is currently partially opened. At the moment 60 luxurious, comfortable and state of the art interior decorated rooms are at service and after formal inauguration in September/October 2006 the hotel will get fully operational.

The luxurious Zaver PC Hotel has been designed to provide accommodation to its clients along with full range of facilities that are a hallmark of the best hotels of the world - two high speed scenic elevators, a business centre, state of the art banquet and meeting facilities including a ball room, meeting rooms with splendid views, swimming pool, health club and exciting local and international dining experience.

The specially chosen site in the heart of beach bay of this 120 rooms hotel adds to its utility and grandeur as it is located only 10 kilometers away from Gwadar Airport, which caters to daily flights from Karachi and is also accessible by road from other cities of the country.

 

[Neo]

ISLAMABAD (September 13 2006): Pakistan and China will set up a joint venture consortium to finalise the preferential policy and tax incentives package for the establishment of 'Gwadar Economic and Energy Zone' comprising an oil refinery, LNG terminals and petrochemical industry.

Sources said on Tuesday that the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) is examining a proposal of Economic Affairs Division for possible exemption of duties and taxes for the 'Zone'. They said that Pakistan and China would ink a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishment of the zone, which would allow setting up a joint venture consortium for designing, developing, constructing and managing the Zone.

Under the proposed MoU, both governments would establish a 'working group' to identify appropriate sites and work out the incentives package to facilitate the setting up of the joint venture consortium, sources added. The two countries would jointly conduct technical and financial studies on setting up of an oil refinery, LNG terminal and petrochemical industry to be located in the Zone.

Sources said that Pakistan government would provide land and an incentives package to ensure that the enterprises based in the Zone are commercially viable. The Pakistan government would also ensure safety and security of Chinese experts working on these projects. In this connection, Pakistan's Ambassador in Beijing has conveyed to the government to work out the concessions for the Zone, sources added.

The governments of Pakistan and China had signed a declaration on bilateral trade development as well as a Treaty of Friendship Co-operation and Goods-neighbourly Relations in April 2005.

Both countries are determined to promote mutually beneficial co-operation in the field of energy in accordance with the framework agreement on energy co-operation signed in Beijing in February 2006. Pakistan and China recognise the importance of establishing an Economic Energy Zone by setting up storage sites, oil refinery and LNG terminals as well as related petrochemical industry at Gwadar.