CPEC: PM Shehbaz Sharif orders to provide lands to SEZs investors

Gwadar Pro

Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered to provide land to investors in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on favorable terms and proposed a mechanism to cancel lease agreements if industries are not developed within specified timeframes.

The PM, addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of Islamabad Model Special Economic Zone, reiterated his appeal for a Charter of Economy to ensure consistent economic policies and lead the country towards progress and prosperity.

During the groundbreaking ceremony, he highlighted the significance of boosting exports and learning from China’s expertise in textiles.

The Prime Minister mentioned the challenges faced by the current government due to floods and inflation and outlined their focus on enhancing the industrial and agriculture sectors.

Additionally, he established a Special Investment Facilitation Council to attract investments in various sectors.

The Prime Minister also emphasized the importance of attracting foreign investments from countries like China, UAE, and Qatar to uplift Pakistan’s economic standing.

The prime minister, who earlier broke ground for the project and penned a testimonial, said that during Nawaz Sharif’s tenure, US $ 30 billion Chinese investment came to the country in the form of CPEC, featuring power and road projects.

He told the gathering that after the Chinese industry gone hitech, Pakistan had the golden opportunity to learn from the Chinese textile expertise, go for joint ventures and bring Chinese second-hand machinery to Pakistan to boost its exports.

He said during the last 14 months, the incumbent government remained in ‘fire-fighting’ mode as it had to cope with the unprecedented floods and record inflation, begotten by the Ukraine war.

The prime minister said, the government would mainly focus on boosting industrial and agriculture sectors.

Citing Bangladesh’s US $40 billion export of imported cotton, the prime minister said successful nations always learned lessons from past mistakes, and strove to cope with the challenge.

THE Prime Minister Shehbaz said in the past, the SEZ turned into the development estate and the people have been minting money.

Emphasising the provision of land to the investors in SEZs on easy terms, he said the land in the Bahawalpur Solar Park was leased out at just $1 to the investors which was inevitable for them to save their capital to set up the industry.