By Makhdoom
Shehryar Babar
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday vowed early completion of the ongoing development projects being carried out by the Chinese companies in Pakistan that earlier faced deliberate delays by the previous government.
He said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was playing an important role in the development of Pakistan and emphasized that the government was eying increased cooperation and investment with Chinese companies.
The prime minister expressed these views in a meeting with a Chinese delegation led by the President of Shanghai Electric Liu Ping. The meeting was also attended by former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan, Minister of State for Petroleum Dr. Mussadak Malik, Special Assistants Zafaruddin Mahmood, Dr. Jahanzeb Khan, and senior officials.
PM Sharif said the entire nation was grateful to Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Chinese leadership for helping Pakistan in difficult times.
He said the Chinese cooperation and investment to a greater extent led to improved development in Pakistan’s infrastructure, public transport, and power crisis.
He assured necessary steps to ensure the security of engineers and staffers of Chinese companies working in Pakistan.
He regretted that Thar Coal Power Project, which was supposed to be completed a long time ago, was deliberately stalled by the incompetent government of prime minister Imran Khan.
With its completion, the project would generate 1,320 MW of electricity from local coal, he added.
For early completion of Thar Coal Project by Shanghai Electric, the prime minister tasked the responsibility of assistance to Special Representative Zafaruddin Mehmood and Additional Secretary Nadeem Chaudhry.
He commended the assurance given by the Chinese companies to ensure the completion of projects in Pakistan at a fast pace.
The meeting informed the prime minister that Thar Coal Power Project was stalled for the last few years, however, the present government was making rapid progress to complete it by the first quarter of 2023. Also, 7,000 local people have been provided employment due to the project.
The prime minister welcomed the interest of Shanghai Electric to make further investments in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Pakistan.
