ISLAMABAD : A team of Chinese socio-economic development experts will visit Pakistan in the last week of February to finalise the projects and their sites in already agreed six different areas under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This was disclosed by a spokesperson for the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Reform on Saturday.
The spokesperson, in a statement, also clarified a news item published in a section of press regarding delays in implementation of CPEC, saying that none of the projects is facing delay; rather Pakistan and China are in agreement on the future trajectory of CPEC and timely completion of its ongoing projects. He said the successful 8th Joint Cooperation Committee meeting had laid the foundation for the expansion of CPEC to new heights. For future, he said, joint efforts are under way, focusing on socio-economic development and accelerating cooperation in industrial development as well as agriculture. The MoU on the formation of Joint Working Group (JWG) on socio-economic development and on poverty reduction was signed during the prime minister’s visit to China in November this year, the spokesman added. On Gwadar, he said, Pakistan and China have agreed to speed up the progress on the port and its auxiliary projects. The groundbreaking of New Gwadar Airport, vocational institute, and hospital are planned in the first quarter of this year. Gwadar Master Plan is in the final stages of formulation. – Agencies
