Daily Times

GWADAR: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Sunday said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a national programme and the enemies of this mega project were the enemies of Pakistan and China.

Addressing the launching ceremony of first mega pilot trade cargo at Gwadar Port, the prime minister underscored the significance of the political stability and said the CPEC was leapfrog in this regard.

The prime minister said the CPEC had become a reality with starting off the first shipment of trade cargo from the Gwadar Port to international destinations. Terming the arrival of the first trade convoy at Gwadar Port ‘a watershed event’, the prime minister said the CPEC project, conceived by the leadership of China and Pakistan, had materialised, bringing a dawn of immense trade and commerce opportunities for the whole region. He said Pakistan was a proud partner of China and assured that his government would leave no stone unturned to complete all the development projects under the aegis of CPEC on time.

He said the CPEC also manifested the desire of the leadership of two countries for shared prosperity through a broader and solid cooperation. He also lauded the Chinese president for his vision of regional prosperity which coincided with Pakistan’s vision of development of 2020. He said President Xi’s vision of shared prosperity through greater connectivity was need of the hour in the conflict ridden and increasing polarized world.

The prime minister said Pakistan enjoyed the unique geo-strategic location, standing at the crossroads of three major engines of growth, including South Asia, China and the Central Asia, and changing fate of three billion people of the region and in future would serve as the hub of a major trade zone.

Terming the Gwadar Port a ‘jewel in the CPEC crown’, he expressed the confidence that due to its geo-strategic prime location, it would play a pivotal role in future trade and cargo activities. He assured that no area of the country would be deprived of the fruits of prosperity from various CPEC development projects.

He expressed the hope that with the execution of various development projects, bilateral relations between China and Pakistan would reach further heights. He said a new era of prosperity had not only ushered in Balochistan but also spanned the length and breadth of the country.

The prime minister said the construction of new roads had brought peace and prosperity in the province linking the major coastline of the country, which had been erstwhile virtually inaccessible due to lack of road network. He said the government and the armed forces rendered efforts to make local people as the main stakeholders of the project, adding faces of residents would now gleam with prosperity.

The prime minister also commended the personal support and indulgence of the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif and Balochistan chief minister for executing the development projects, adding the maritime security was being looked after by the Pakistan Navy.

He lauded the services of Frontier Works Organization (FWO) for the operationalizing of Gwadar Port by laying three major road networks through the rough and difficult terrains of the province over which the federal government spent Rs 49 billion. He paid tribute to the brave 40 FWO men who laid down their lives in the construction of the road projects.

He announced that Khuzdar-Gwadar-Ratodero road would be made operational in 2017 whereas Chaman-Khyber road had already been rehabilitated.

He said under the CPEC, the government had prioritized energy and road infrastructure. To meet the electricity needs, a 300-megawatt power plant was being installed in Gwadar, he added.

The prime minister said the government had already allocated land for the Gwadar Free Trade Zone with special concessions. Moreover, he said, the projects of Exclusive Industrial Park Processing Zone and Mineral Economic Zone were also being executed on priority basis.