Daily Times

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday directed the concerned authorities to expedite process of implementing the agreements and Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) made with the Chinese government and companies, saying that delay in implementation of the agreements would not be tolerated.

China is a time tested friend of Pakistan who helped Pakistan in every hour of need, the prime minister said while chairing a review meeting regarding Pak-China cooperation here at PM House. He said the Chinese leadership was determined to further expand investment in Pakistan.

The prime minister pointed out that the transfer of the Chinese industry to Pakistan would help improving the country’s overall economy, increasing Pakistan’s exports, and creating new employment opportunities. During the meeting, the prime minister was briefed on progress of different projects that were launched with the Chinese cooperation.

The prime minister was told that Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway would be completed through Public Private Partnership. It was informed that the plan to send 1,000 students for modern agricultural vocational training at government expense had been completed.

The first batch of students was being sent to China at the beginning of this academic year while the the next batch would be sent to the Chinese modern agricultural universities after learning Chinese in Pakistan.

Furthermore, the meeting was informed that the plan to transfer the power plants running on imported coal to local coal was also in the final stages.

As regards business and investment opportunities in Pakistan, a road show was being organized in Beijing with the cooperation of China. A comprehensive road map was presented to the meeting regarding the transfer of Chinese industries in Pakistan.

It was informed in the meeting that the Chinese textile, medical and surgical equipment, plastic and leather industries will be partnered with Chinese companies to move to Pakistan. “78 Pakistani companies have initially expressed deep interest in cooperation for the transfer of Chinese industries to Pakistan,” the meeting was informed.

In this regard, the Board of Investment (BoI) presented a comprehensive report on the progress and action plan. The prime minister appreciated the steps and recommendations of BoI in this regard. He directed the relevant departments and officers to provide all kinds of facilities to Pakistani companies in collaborating with Chinese companies.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday directed the project team of Islamabad Technology Park and the Information Technology Ministry to complete the project within current calendar year instead of the scheduled completion date of June 2025.

The prime minister, during his visit to the under-construction site of the country’s largest Islamabad Technology Park, said that the project was launched in 2022 during the coalition government of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the contract was awarded to a South Korean company.

He said the project was being completed at a cost of Rs 25 billion out of which $70 million (soft loan) was being provided by the South Korean government.

“Soon after taking charge of my office, I issued directions to continue work on the project round the clock,” he said adding that he as Chief Minister Punjab had introduced the system of 24 hours work on the development projects.

Expressing satisfaction over the progress of the project, PM Shehbaz Sharif asked the project management to try their best to complete the project by September or October this year.

He said after completion of the project, some 120 offices of different companies would be established in the Park.