GWADAR/QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani on Friday laid the foundation stone of phase III of the Green Energy Project being executed under the Gwadar Development Project.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, he called the initiative an important step towards the progress of the province.

Mr Alyani said that positive outcome was palpable across Balochistan “whenever we start any development project in Gwadar and the Green Energy Project will meet the energy demand of the area”.

The chief minister called Gwadar one of the top emerging investor-friendly cities of the world that would meet all demands of international investors.

“The year 2019 will be the year of Gwadar’s development as Gwadar International Airport, Eastbay Expressway, Gwadar Master Plan and other projects of the port city being executed under the Federal PSDP will change the fate of the local population of the port city,” Mr Alyani said.

He pledged the provincial government’s full cooperation with foreign companies/investors willing to invest in Gwadar and said the provincial government was working on new reforms for the port city to unveil a new governing system in the rising economic hub of Balochistan,

“By introducing the one-window-operation, we will be able to provide necessary facilities to local and international investors and for this purpose the provincial government was trying to strengthen the capacity of its departments and employees,” the chief minister said.

He said the provincial government was utilising all its resources to start implementation of the Gwadar Smart City project. Besides, he said, water shortage issue of the port city was also being addressed on priority basis.

He said a sub-campus of the University of Balochistan was also being established in Gwadar which would ensure provision of top quality education to the youth of Gwadar.

Meanwhile, addressing a ceremony of the Pak-China Youth Enclave in Gwadar, Chief Minister Alyani said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had opened up vast opportunities for youth employment.

“Pakistan is fortunate to have a high percentage of youth in its population. If we can provide opportunities for skills development, we will have a talented workforce capable of making the country progressive and prosperous,” he said.

Provincial ministers Mir Zahoor Buledi and Zamrak Khan Achakzai, as well as the Chinese consul general, were present on the occasion.

The chief minister said nature had blessed Balochistan with a 750-km-long coastline and “it is up to us to make optimum use of this gift of God”.

“In the shape of CPEC, opportunity has opened its doors for the nation’s youth and a new era of progress and prosperity has begun,” Jam Kamal observed.

The chief minister praised the Gwadar Development Authority for holding a successful ceremony and expressed hopes that the next youth convention would be held in China.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2019