QUETTA: The government of Balochistan has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Chinese company to provide clean drinking water to the residents of Gwadar.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and Chief Executive of China’s Overseas Holding Company Zhang Baozang signed the MoU at a ceremony here on Sunday. Provincial Minister for Environment Prince Ahmed Ali, MPA Hamid Achakzai, Chief Secretary Aurangzeb Haq Mir and other officials were present.

“The Chinese company will provide 300,000 gallons of water on daily basis at a cost of only 80 paisas for a gallon and with it the acute scarcity of water in Gwadar will end soon.” CM Bizenjo said.

“The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor provides us an opportunity to develop our deprived province and we should get benefits from multi-billion dollars Pak-China trade,” he said.

The CM said the province had been ignored by the federal government in the past but he was optimistic that now the centre would soon start work on the already announced development projects in Balochistan.

He said the provincial government was taking measures to provide better facilities of education and health and clean drinking water to people.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2018