-Chinese Envoy, CPEC Chairman Bajwa vow to fully support Rashakai SEZ
-KP CM, Chinese Envoy inaugurate schools’ reconstruction project in tribal areas
Bureau Report
PESHAWAR: First Chinese industry on Monday laid its foundation in the CPEC Rashakai Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and have started work in the Zone.
Chairman China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Lt. General (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa visited the site along with Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong. In his tweet Asim Bajwa said the SEZ was progressing well and all the amenities including power, gas, access road, security wall were being provided as per envisaged time lines.
Meanwhile, an official of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment told media that the SEZ Committee of Rashakai Special Economic Zone had allocated 40 acres of land to Century Steel (Pvt) Ltd, which was owned by Fuzhou Julitaihe International Company. The Century Steel has to invest US $ 50 million and will produce 250,000 tons steel products at their plant in the Rashakai SEZ. Nong Rong and Asim Saleem Bajwa pledged to fully support Rashakai Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
They also promised to assist the SEZ’s developer China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) in solving problems. Chinese envoy and Chairman Bajwa made the remarks when visiting the site of Rashakai SEZ on Monday. According to CRBC, the construction of Rashakai SEZ is in full swing. Workers are building the bounding wall and roads within the zone. The first enterprise of the SEZ is constructing their factory, which comes from Fujian Province, China. Rashakai SEZ is one of the nine SEZs prioritized under the framework of CPEC. This SEZ has got a series of preferential policies and supporting conditions given by the Pakistani government. Rashakai SEZ aims to become a role model for other SEZs under CPEC, trade transfer station as well as base of industrial capacity cooperation between China and Central Asia and Western Asia. Meanwhile in the day, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Nong Rong inaugurated the project of reconstruction of damaged schools in the newly merged tribal areas.
A ceremony in this regard was held here at Chief Minister’s House Peshawar which was attended by provincial cabinet members Shahram Khan Tarakai, Abdul Kareem, Chairman CPEC Authority, Asim Saleem Bajwa, Additional Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir, administrative secretaries of concerned departments and other high-ups.
On this occasion, Secretary Elementary and Secondary Education Department and concerned Chinese Authorities signed a document regarding implementation of the reconstruction project.
Earlier, the Chief Minister and Chinese Ambassador were briefed in detail about the different aspects of reconstruction projects.
In the first phase of the project, a total of 50 schools fully damaged during militancy in Bara Tehsil of Khyber district will be reconstructed. These schools include 24 schools for boys and 26 for girls.
The total estimated cost of the reconstruction project is Rs 2323 million, out of which Rs 868 million will be provided by the Government of Pakistan while 10.29 million US dollars will be provided by the Chinese Government.
The Chief Minister expressed his gratitude to the Chinese government for its support extended to the provincial government in the reconstruction of damaged schools in the newly merged areas.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that China is a time tested friend of Pakistan, and China Pakistan Economic Corridor Project is a great example of Pak-China friendship.
He added that, his government highly appreciated the assistance being provided by Chinese Government for the reconstruction of damaged schools in tribal districts.
