Reko Diq Mining Company (RDMC) on Wednesday constituted a 25-member Community Development Committee (CDC) at Nokkundi in the Chagai district, comprising local stakeholders and community leaders in order to guide the company’s social investment plan in the area. Speaking at the event, Ali Ehsan Rind, the country manager of RDMC said Barrick strove to be a good corporate citizen and a genuine partner of the host communities in locally-led development. He said, “With the formation of this CDC, representing all the key local stakeholders, I am confident that our work will become a catalyst for the social development of the local communities.” The Nokkundi CDC was formulated after an extensive consultative process and engagement with 62 stakeholders, he said and added that its mandate included consultation for consensus on the selection of social investment initiatives to be undertaken by the company. “The formation of this CDC is a concrete step taken by RDMC to ensure that the business delivers social investment projects of significant and lasting benefit to the local communities among whom it will operate,” he said.
Rind said that, the management of RDMC valued sustainable development and mutual advantage and sought to build a harmonious partnership amongst the communities in and around the RD project area.
Reko Diq would be a multi-generational mine with a life of at least 40 years and during peak construction, the project was expected to employ 7,500 people and once in production it will create 4,000 long-term jobs, he said.
The meeting was also attended by the district commissioner of Chaghi, the deputy director of mines (Balochistan), tribal elders, local notables and a cross-section of representatives from the district.