ISLAMABAD: The Challenge Fashion Group, a Chinese company has vowed to expand its business under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan which would create over 20,000 jobs for locals, Chairman CPEC Authority Lt. General (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa said on Wednesday.
He said the Chinese investor had already established a textile factory in Lahore which was a huge export oriented unit.
In his tweet, the Chairman said the textile factory being run by the Chinese Challenge Fashion Group had produced over 5000 jobs for local people.
During his visit to the factory in Lahore on Tuesday, Asim Bajwa had expressed satisfaction over the establishment of the unit of international standard saying that the owner of the company was now keen to establish a separate Special Economic Zone in Pakistan that would be exclusively an export oriented zone and all the goods produced by that SEZ would be exported to other countries.
He said a number of Chinese investors were lined up for investment in Pakistan’s industrial sector and soon all would be accommodated. He said this was the model for new SEZs which would boost the industrial output and exports.
Earlier, CPEC Authority Lt. General Asim Saleem Bajwa (retd) said that work on 103- kilometer Nokundi-Mashkhel road had been started under CPEC which will grant easier access to neighboring Iran.
“Access to Iran will be improved after construction of these roads,” Bajwa said in a tweet. He said the design of 200-kilometer Mashkhel-Panjgur Road is under process. He said this road will connect the Western Route of CPEC N-40 with N-85 and M-8, linking Chagai-Nokundi Sector with Gwadar and the entire remote region.
The CPEC Authority chairman said that Gwadar port was becoming a hub of economic activities under the mega project of CPEC.
The federal government meanwhile said that the development of roads in South Balochistan was a key priority of the government to improve connectivity of Gwadar with North.An official statement said about 60 percent of construction work of Basima-Khuzdar road had been completed while construction of Hoshab Awaran road had also been started. “Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of uplifting remote areas, especially South Balochistan, is being realized,” said the statement.
The 146 kilometers Hoshab-Awaran project is an integral part of CPEC Central Alignment which connects Gwader Port with the Sindh province. The project is expected to be completed in three years at an estimated cost of Rs 20 billion.
The Basima-Khuzdar road (N-30) is 106 KM long having a cost of Rs11.749 billion. This project is expected to be completed by the end of the current year.
The 449 KM Quetta to Hoshab road (N-85) had been completed and is operational while the 235 KM long Surab-Quetta (N-25) road had also been completed and was operational. – Agencies
