QUETTA: Secretary of Prime Minister’s Office and Board of Investment Syed Iftikhar Hussain Babar said on Sunday that the business community of Balochistan could get maximum benefits from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

Mr Babar was talking to members of business community of the province and media personnel at the Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industries here.

He said 11 of 33 economic zones to be set up along the CPEC would be in Balochistan where the federal government would provide a number of incentives, including tax exemption.

The secretary said the western route of the CPEC, from Gwadar to Quetta and Dera Ismail Khan, would be constructed on priority basis.

Federal secretary says western route of the corridor to be constructed on priority basis

He urged members of the province’s business community to develop contacts with investors in Iran and Afghanistan and persuade them to invest in Balochistan and get benefits of the CPEC project. The government had set up an office of the Board of Investment in Gwadar to facilitate investors, he added.

The secretary said the CPEC project would open a new era of economic development in the region. It will also create new job opportunities in the country.

Following the suggestion of Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, Mr Babar, the federal government was taking steps to set up economic zones in Bostan, Hub and Gwadar.

He said World Bank and IMF had appreciated financial policies of the Pakistan’s government.

Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industries president Juma Khan Noorzai presented a shield to Mr Babar.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2015

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