CPEC back under planning ministry

Published December 19, 2024

BEIJING: The authority formed to oversee the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project was being wrapped up as it had become dysfunctional, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said on Wednesday, adding that control of the project was now back with his ministry.

Talking to reporters during a trip to China, he said that the CPEC Authority was created during 2019 to take the project away from Ministry of Planning and Development, which had successfully managed it for half a decade, from 2013 to 2018. “And when CPEC Authority was created, it proved to be ineffective; and after one year, it was made dysfunctional. So, it only existed on paper,” he added.

Mr Iqbal said now that the authority was being wound up, control of the project would be back with his ministry, giving the example of China’s National Development Reform Com­mis­­sion, which oversaw Beijing’s end of the economic corridor project. He hoped this would bring more clarity and focus to the CPEC project, enabling it to regain its former momentum.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Words that wound
Updated 18 Jun, 2026

Words that wound

Hate speech rarely begins with physical attacks.
‘New urban province’
18 Jun, 2026

‘New urban province’

CONSIDERING the advance state of urban decay that affects Karachi, voices are often raised calling for the megacity,...
Punjab budget: mixed bag
18 Jun, 2026

Punjab budget: mixed bag

PUNJAB’S budget for FY27 is a mix of good and bad political choices, with a cash-strapped centre tightening the...
Spoiler alert
17 Jun, 2026

Spoiler alert

AFTER the temporary peace deal between the US and Iran is physically signed in Geneva on Friday, an arduous process...
Storm-tested cities
17 Jun, 2026

Storm-tested cities

THE deaths caused by the latest spell of monsoon rains in KP and Punjab illustrate how quickly severe weather can...
Chakwal tragedy
17 Jun, 2026

Chakwal tragedy

A NINE-year-old girl is dead because a Punjab Crime Control Department gunman mistook her family’s car for a...