Nine industrial zones to be set up under CPEC: Ahsan

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Sunday said that nine industrial zones will be set up in the country under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project during next 2-3 years which will generate huge employment opportunities.

“With the inception of CPEC political ties between Pakistan and China have been turned into a true economic relationship,” he said in an interview with Radio Pakistan.

He said that the coal-powered projects of 1320 megawatts capacity each had been completed in Sahiwal and Port Qasim that were generating electricity.

Ahsan Iqbal said that a 300 MW Solar Power Project had also been completed in Bahawalpur under CPEC.

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He said that the present government was also tapping the Thar coal reserves, which could be a source of energy supply for the country for 400 years.

The minister for planning and development said that the road networks between Quetta and Gwadar had been improved by the government and the travelling time between the two cities had now been reduced to only eight hours.

“Karakoram Highway reconstruction and extension project from Havelian to Thakot and Multan-Sukkur and Hakla–Dera Ismail Khan Motorways projects will be completed by the end of current year,” he said.

He said that Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta Circular Railway projects had also been initiated under the CPEC project.