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Parliamentary Committee on CPEC meets; western route to be completed by August 2018

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June 30, 2016, 8:54 pm
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ISLAMABAD: The Parliamentary Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) met today under the chairmanship of its Chairman, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed.

The meeting began with a briefing by the Chairman of the Committee on their recent visit to China and he also presented the report onChina visit which took place during May 21-27, 2016 to the members of the Committee. The members appreciated the invitation from the Chinese government to the Parliamentary Committee and also express their praise for the positive work that the Committee undertook during its visit to China.

The meeting also congratulated Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, member of the Parliamentary Committee on his assumption of office of Minister for Ports & Shipping and expressed the hope that under his leadership, the Gwadar Port project would take off in the near future.

The Minister for Port & Shipping as well as the Chairman, Gwadar Port Authority and the Secretary of the Ministry of Ports & Shipping gave a comprehensive update and briefing on the development work pertaining to Gwadar port. The informed the Committee that the Gwadar International Airport was being constructed at a cost of $ 260 million dollars, which is a full grant from the Chinese government and this would be an airport of international standards capable of handling the largest of passenger planes including the A380 Boeing Jet.

Additionally, the Chinese government has given a grant of $ 10 million dollars for building the Pakistan-China Vocational & Technical Training Institute which will be helping the local population of Gwadar getting skills and employment. The Chairman, GPA also informed that the water problem of Gwadar was being sorted out with the construction of Sawad dam where water would be provided to Gwadar through a 83 km pipeline and the water shortage of Gwadar would be resolved in that manner.
http://nation.com.pk/national/30-Jun-2016/cpec-western-route-to-be-completed-by-august-2018


A briefing was also given on the various financial incentives being provided to potential investors in the Special Economic Zone of Gwadar as a result of which there was growing interests among investors both in Pakistan and abroad for investment in the Special Economic Zone. With these new incentives, the Gwadar port has also being activated and 3 new ships will arrive from China, bringing construction material will arrive in July 2016.

Regarding the provision of electricity for Gwadar, the Committee was informed by the Ministry of Water & Power that as a result of an agreement with an Iranian company, an additional 100 MG of electricity would be available for Gwadar by the end of 2017.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee, Senator Mushahid Hussain said that during the visit to China, he underlined that the Parliamentary Committee, in its working, was guided by 3 key principles, namely, consensus through consultation with all political parties and provinces, transparency in projects and decision making, and inclusive development, with a focus on implementation in letter and spirit of the decisions taken at the All-Parties Conference held at the Prime Minister's House on May 28, 2015.

Among these decisions, building of Western route on priority basis was agreed unanimously by all leaders and political parties, plus the rapid development of Gwadar port while ensuring that the rights of the citizens of Gwadar are fully protected.

Senator Mushahid Hussain also referred to his recent participation and speech on CPEC at the Silk Road Forum organized in Warsaw, Poland to promote connectivity between Europe and Asia and he said that there was clear consensus that CPEC was the centrepiece, the flagship, pilot project of the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, hence failure is not an option and 'the people of Pakistan are unwavering in their determination to construct the CPEC as it is in the interest of Pakistan and its prople'.

He said that in line with the work plan of the Committee, where the Committee would have interaction with all the provinces which had been done in the case of Sindh, KPK and Balochistan, now the Parliamentary Committee would interact with the Government of Punjab during July 21-23, 2016, which will include a briefing by the Chief Minister Punjab as well as visits to the Sahiwal Power project and Bahawalpur solar project.

The Chairman, NHA briefed the Committee in detail regarding the progress being made on the Western route which, he said, would be completed by August 2018. Work on it was already underway at different segments and this would be initially be a modern 4-lane highway which would eventually be upgraded into a 6-lane motorway, for which planning was underway. Allocations have already been made and construction is underway on the fast track for the construction of the Western route which, the Chairman, NHA underlined would be completed a year earlier than the Eastern route since priority was being accorded to the Western route in accordance with the decision of the All Parties conference of May 28, 2015 as well as the directive of the Prime Minister issued in January 2016 on constructing the Western route on priority.

The Committee directed the Ministry of Planning & Development to prepare a projection of requirement for electricity for Gwadar and Balochistan as a whole. After hearing detailed arguments, the Committee unanimously directed that given the track record of FWO in construction of roads in which difficult terrain of Balochistan as well as security situation in certain parts of Balochistan where the FWO has already delivered, the 110 km of the Khuzdar-Bassima highway be completed also by the FWO so that the project gets underway.

The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the chair. Members who attend the meeting included Senator Lt. Gen. (R) Salahuddin Tirmizi, Senator Baz Mohammad Khan, Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Ghous Bux Mahar, MNA, Rana Mohammad Afzal, Mir Ijaz Jhakrani, MNA and Secretary of the Committee Mr. Khalid Mehmood.
 
Looks like project is headed in a right direction...!
@Arsalan @Kaptaan @Windjammer @Oscar @Bratva
With the usual comissions and bribes involved.
For e.g. , Gwadar has no need for an overextended runway and facilities until the CPEC reaches operational status; yet the idiots who engineering the drama that surrounds Gwadar are making billions of rupees off the project.
 
How could you possibly come to the conclusion from that particular statement of mine. I'd like to see your logic tree before I answer your question?

Free money = You don't like.

Rest of CPEC loan = You seem to like. From this post you just made.

Fact: If there are corrupt officials and mismanagement in one place, there are corrupt officials and mismanagement everywhere.

If you are worried about 'excess', then you will eventually need a longer runway in the future, and it's better if it's free now than having to pay yourself when that 'excess' becomes a 'necessity' later.

And what may be excess to you, may not be an excess to the Chinese. This is how the Chinese work. They build something and then create the demand later.

Considering you seem to be worried about something that's free, I wanted your opinion on the rest of CPEC, which will have direct consequences for the taxpayer.
 
Free money = You don't like.

Rest of CPEC loan = You seem to like. From this post you just made.

Fact: If there are corrupt officials and mismanagement in one place, there are corrupt officials and mismanagement everywhere.

If you are worried about 'excess', then you will eventually need a longer runway in the future, and it's better if it's free now than having to pay yourself when that 'excess' becomes a 'necessity' later.

And what may be excess to you, may not be an excess to the Chinese. This is how the Chinese work. They build something and then create the demand later.

Considering you seem to be worried about something that's free, I wanted your opinion on the rest of CPEC, which will have direct consequences for the taxpayer.
The CPEC is all good and sundry as it figures into the silk road; it is where the funds for it end up in the wrong hands is what I decry. The actual harmful effects of China lie in trade imbalances and that is something everyone has against China.
 
The CPEC is all good and sundry as it figures into the silk road; it is where the funds for it end up in the wrong hands is what I decry.

The 'wrong hands' risk is present everywhere. It's a part and parcel of us third world walas. You should be more worried about another military takeover, corruption is the least of your problems.

The actual harmful effects of China lie in trade imbalances and that is something everyone has against China.

You've signed a FTA with China way too early. Now you're stuck with trying to make pro-Pak tariffs and have committed yourself to deadlines.
 
@Oscar the thing is, we all know these "issues". What will be worth while is to figure out the solution!
Everyone here can point out these problems but what will be your suggestion to resolve these issues? anything?
 
@Oscar the thing is, we all know these "issues". What will be worth while is to figure out the solution!
Everyone here can point out these problems but what will be your suggestion to resolve these issues? anything?
What solution? It is an ingrained trait of our countrymen to be corrupt. The only solution lies in total overhaul of our very society from the ground up and respect for the law; something the majority of our ignorant population believes lies in some miracle form of Shariat imposed that not a single person understands fully nor can agree on a single interpretation of. When you are looking at a failed society that cannot fathom the idea of progressing in values and cannot be bothered to nurture a cadre of leadership that has 1 out of 5 people who would be sincere to their cause; then you are looking at a self reducing equation for Pakistani society to survive.

This isnt a case of pointing out problems just because they exist, its a case of pointing out an unavoidable disaster for those who can escape it.
 
What solution? It is an ingrained trait of our countrymen to be corrupt. The only solution lies in total overhaul of our very society from the ground up and respect for the law; something the majority of our ignorant population believes lies in some miracle form of Shariat imposed that not a single person understands fully nor can agree on a single interpretation of. When you are looking at a failed society that cannot fathom the idea of progressing in values and cannot be bothered to nurture a cadre of leadership that has 1 out of 5 people who would be sincere to their cause; then you are looking at a self reducing equation for Pakistani society to survive.

This isnt a case of pointing out problems just because they exist, its a case of pointing out an unavoidable disaster for those who can escape it.
I sometimes wonder whether Pakistan is cursed or something. We have huge economic, political, societal, religious, terrorism problems along with the imminent threat of attack from India. We have more than our fair share of problems, I think.

When I see a country like vietnam with a gdp per capitia of $1910 and Pakistan with a gdp per capitia of $1275 dollars,
I really wonder why my country has to go through all this. If those Vietnamese could achieve this much despite going through so much war then what is so wrong with my country.

Vietnam is also a third world country like Pakistan right? Then why is it doing so much better than Pakistan? Is Pakistan an exception even among third world countries?
 
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I sometimes wonder whether Pakistan is cursed or something. We huge have economic, political, societal, religious, terrorism problems along with the imminent threat of attack from India. We have more than our fair share of problems, I think.

When I see a country like vietnam with a gdp per capitia of $1910 and Pakistan with a gdp per capitia of $1275 dollars,
I really wonder why my country has to go through all this. If those Vietnamese could achieve this much despite going through so much war then what is so wrong with my country.

Vietnam is also a third world country like Pakistan right? Then why is it doing so much better than Pakistan? Is Pakistan an exception even among third world countries?
The country is made up of people, people who regardless of all the excuses given on fate and punishment by god are the ones who pick rulers. Rulers that then decide destiny. If people cannot take charge of destiny and this awareness cannot perculate in society in terms of what they must do to change their futures; then we are bound to be left at pictures of Mufti Qavi and Qandeel Baloch while hearing of why Ayaan Ali trampled over ASF as our future.
 
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