7, April 2005	Thursday	27 Safar 1426

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QUETTA, April 6: The biggest gas terminal of the country is being established in Quetta for supplying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to the rest of the country after finalizing a gas import project with Turkmenistan. Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Mir Mohammad Yousuf disclosed this during a meeting with the director general, National Logistic Cell (NLC), Major Gen Khalid Zaheer Akhtar, here on Wednesday.

He said that with the establishment of a gas terminal in Quetta over 1,500 local people would get jobs while LPG would be sent all over the country through NLC tankers. He said that the NLC would also launch container service for sending goods from Gwadar port to the Central Asian States.

The provincial chief minister said that Balochistan would prove to be the hub of economic and business activities in future and would also play an important role in boosting international trade due to its geographic importance.

He said that boosting of international trade from Gwadar to Taftan and Chaman was an important project of the country and for this purpose trade stations and warehouses would be constructed at various points on the Taftan-Quetta and Gwadar-Quetta highways.

“Around 3,000 jobs would be available with the establishment of trade stations and warehouses in Balochistan,” Jam Yousuf said in the meeting.

He said that trade centres would also be set up in Chaman and Taftan, and he added that land had been acquired in the border town of Chaman for establishing a trade centre and soon construction work on it would start.

He said that the federal government would provide funds and the provincial government would acquire land for these trade centres.

The Balochistan chief minister said that Quetta would be the hub of trade and business activities as trade would be increased with neighbouring countries after completion of the Gwadar port and import of LPG from Turkmenistan.

He said that the government was also taking steps for constructing and repairing important national highways in the province so that trade activities could be boosted.

The director general, NLC, briefed the meeting about its projects being launched in the province.

The additional chief secretary, Planning and Development, Major (retd) Nadir Ali; the senior member, Board of Revenue; the secretary, Communication, and other officials concerned also attended the meeting.