LAHORE: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal said here on Saturday there was no pre-decided or approved route under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), while Pak-China Industrial Working Group is yet to be constituted.

“Reports about any change to the CPEC route or shifting of industrial zones from the western route are baseless and misleading,” he said at a seminar on ‘Different facets of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Project’ organised by the Pakistan Institute of National Affairs (PINA) and the University of Management and Technology (UMT) at a local hotel.

Mr Iqbal said the CPEC was being executed on the pattern through which China had attained its development goals. And their basic principle is that “no project would be launched without having scientific planning; this is an enterprise and we (Chinese) will do it in steps/phases; we will take the easy path first.”

He said Gwadar city was being developed on modern lines so that it could facilitate the mega trade activities in future, and out of the US $46 billion Chinese investment, US $35 billion (77pc) were being spent on energy projects on the IPP mode with approval of Nepra, while the government had no discretion in utilising these funds.

He said infrastructural and road network development was also being focused and all missing links were being constructed and work on all the CPEC routes -- western, central and eastern -- was under way. The Lahore- Karachi Motorway was not part of the CPEC and was being constructed under a BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) basis and with the toll money.

China was providing concessional financing for its Multan-Sukkur section, he said.

The CPEC, said the minister, was a mega project of 15 years. He said initially, India had opposed the CPEC but it had now realised that this Corridor would be highly viable for its trade with China.

“We must not spoil this opportunity of having the CPEC and not miss something that has the potential to turn around the country’s economy,” he added.

Chinese Consul General in Lahore Yu Boren appreciated the organisers of the seminar and assured that China would continue to support Pakistan for successful completion of the Corridor.

He said the CPEC was part of China’s “One-road-one-belt” project.

Balochistan government spokesman Anwarul Haq Kakar, PINA Secretary-General Altaf Hasan Qureshi, UMT Rector Sohaib Hasan Murad and others also spoke.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2016