China to invest $10b in hydro-power projects in Pakistan
By Agencies
July 07, 2010
President Zardari being welcomed by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhi Jun. PHOTO: APP
BEIJING: President Asif Ali Zardari, during his visit to China, met with the Chairman of a Chinese firm that is willing to invest $10 billion in hydro-power projects in Pakistan.
On his sixth visit as President to China, Zardari also met with the President of Exim Bank as well as the President of The Three Gorges Corporation.
Breifing reporters after the meetings, Zardari said the company will build dams in Bunji and Kohala areas. The dams are to generate 7,000 and 12,000 megawatts respectively.
President Zardari is also expected to hold talks with his Chinese counter part Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.
A nearly $7 billion trade deal between the two countries is also expected to be discussed.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told the media that China and Pakistan will sign cooperation agreements in agriculture, healthcare, economy and technology sectors during President Zardari’s visit.
Commenting on some media reports which claimed that China is striving to balance relations with India and Pakistan, Qin said China expects good neighbourly, friendly and cooperative relations with its two South Asian neighbours.
“We are willing to make joint efforts with both India and Pakistan to promote our bilateral ties, which will benefit the people in the three countries and common development and prosperity of the region,” Qin said, noting that China is also glad to witness improvements in Indo-Pak ties.
President Zardari meets Chinese corporate leaders
Beijing July 7 (APP)
President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday met the leaders of a dozen of China’s corporations specializing in defence, petroleum, banking, industrial and construction sectors to further Islamabad’s quest for attracting Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Pakistan in return for liberal economic incentives and security to Chinese manpower.
The corporate leaders with whom the President met separately in the State Guest House included the chief executive officers and their delegations of the
EXIM Bank of China, the Three Gorges Dam Project Corporation, China Northern Railways Corporation, China Northern Industries Corporation (NORINCO), China Petrochemical Corporation (SINOPEC Group) Sinotruk, Tebian electric and Apparatus Stock Co, Sinohydro Corporation and Industrial and Commercial bank of China.
Briefing the journalists presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that the president informed the corporate leaders that Pakistan had a Free Trade Agreement with China in goods, services which ensured full security to Chinese investment in Pakistan.
He said that low cost and hard working labour together with liberal incentives and access to huge markets of countries in the region Pakistan offered unique opportunity to Chinese investors to invest in Pakistan.
The President thanked the Chinese corporations already doing business in Pakistan and said that the true potential of business partnership between the entrepreneurs of two countries had yet to be fully realized.
President Zardari said that despite adverse geopolitical situation and global financial crisis Pakistan had maintained steady growth. To sustain this growth Pakistan had embarked on private-public partnership mode of development model which was most suited to investors in infrastructure and energy sectors.
Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as saying that the government planned to launch a mega housing project in the country to overcome housing shortage particularly for the government employees. For this purpose high rise apartment buildings are planned to be constructed in major cities of the country which will be given to public officials on mortgage basis. The President invited Chinese builders and construction companies to form consortiums with Pakistani firms on the basis of equity partnership.
He said that the state partnership in the project could be in the form of land and some other essential inputs and facilities.
The president said that Pakistan was facing acute power shortage and intended to add tens of thousands of megawatts of power to its national grid in the next 25 years through combined hydro, coal, gas, nuclear and renewable energy sources. The president apprised the corporations dealing in alternate energy of the enormous potential of solar and wind energy in Pakistan and invited them to join in partnership with Pakistani entrepreneurs.
