Billions of dollars already invested in CPEC projects, more to come: Pakistani PM’s aide on CPEC

Faisalabad: Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Affairs Khalid Mansoor has said billions of dollars had already been invested in the CPEC projects with more to come.

Speaking to journalists here at the Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) office, he said the development work on CPEC phase-I was underway expeditiously and investment of US $ 25 billion had so far been made in industrial estates under CPEC phase-I. “More than US $13 billion have been invested while another US $12 billion investment is in the pipeline,” he said.

Khalid Mansoor said agriculture and textile would be specially focused in CPEC phase-II and maximum investment would be brought in these sectors. “Now, we were working on CPEC phase-II, under which the foreign investors would be offered to make investment in much needed sectors of the country like agriculture, textile, pharmaceuticals, industry, Information Technology and others, he said”.

The PM’s aide on CPEC said the government was taking comprehensive measures to provide maximum facilities to investors at the CPEC’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) with an aim to transform Pakistan a hub of manufacturing economic activities.

About the security situation for the Chinese nationals working in Pakistan, Mansoor said the government had directed the law enforcement agencies to ensure security system for the Chinese brothers.

Khalid Mansoor said that Pakistan was an agrarian country but unfortunately, we were far behind in boosting agriculture production due to certain reasons. He said that legal issues faced by small medium industry who wanted to shift their industry into Allama Iqbal Industrial Estate’s special economic zone would be focused, and the same would be redressed on priority basis.

The SAPM said the government had enforced a law and FIEDMC had also started implementation on it, under which plots in the CPEC SEZs would be canceled of any investor who does not start establishing industry after August 31.

Khalid Mansoor also visited Allama Iqbal Industrial City’s special economic zone and reviewed the development work there. Earlier, he was briefed by FIEDMC Chairman Mian Kashif Ashfaq.