Govt gears up efforts to start work on 5 new economic corridors

Soon after the formation of the elected government, progress on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), particularly the five new economic corridors, including the Corridor of Job Creation, Innovation, Green Energy and Inclusive Regional Development, has been expedited. The newly-appointed Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal, chaired an important meeting on Wednesday to initiate work on the five new corridors in the second phase of CPEC, said a press release issued here on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by the Secretary Planning Awais Manzoor Sumra and senior officials of the CPEC Secretariat. During the meeting, a comprehensive briefing was given to the minister on the progress of CPEC projects, recommendations of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), and working groups held last year. Additionally, the MoUs signed during the third Belt and Road Summit were also reviewed in the meeting.

The Minister was updated on key projects such as ML-1, Karakoram Highway (Phase 2) D.I Khan Zhob, Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), and others. While reviewing the projects, the Minister directed stakeholders to expedite their implementation process without further delay.

“No further hindrance in the implementation of CPEC agreements will be tolerated,” remarked the Minister, while instructing stakeholders to immediately coordinate with relevant ministries for the speedy implementation of the projects.

Furthermore, the Minister directed stakeholders to submit pending PC-1s for various projects to expedite them effectively. Additionally, he instructed regular meetings on CPEC to properly monitor the projects. It is noted that in 2022, the government revived CPEC under the leadership of then Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who visited China soon after taking office.