GWADAR: An emergency hospital constructed by the Red-Cross Society of China at a cost of Rs270 million in the port city of Gwadar was inaugurated on Sunday.

The hospital is one of such emergency medical facilities to be constructed in the country under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

Federal Minister for Port and Shipping Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and President of Red-Cross Society of China Chen Zhu, Mayor of Karamay City Hongyan Zhang, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weiding, Chairman of China Overseas Ports Holding Company Ltd. Zhang Baozhong, Balochistan Chief Secretary Aurangzeb Haque and Chairman of Pakistan Red-Crescent Dr Saeed Elahi attended the inauguration ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Bizenjo and Mr Baozhong said that the hospital was a gift for the people of Gwadar from the Red-Cross Society of China.

They appreciated the people of Balochistan for supporting the CPEC project.

They stressed the need for launching more development projects to remove backwardness of Balochistan, saying that such projects would improve health and education facilities in the province and create jobs.

They said the purpose of setting up the emergency hospital in Gwadar was to provide health facilities to workers engaged in development projects and local people.

They said the emergency hospital would jointly be run by Red-Cross Society of China and the Pakistan Red-Crescent. More financial assistance would be provided to the hospital, they added.

Mr Bizenjo said people of Balochistan had great expectations from the CPEC project, adding that “local people should be assured of their benefits in the CPEC project”.

He said more vocational schools should be established in Gwadar so that local people could play their role in mega projects. He asked Chinese authorities to open a Chinese language centre for local people in the port city.

Meanwhile, a fish processing unit was also inaugurated in the Free Trade Zone of the port city.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2017