ISLAMABAD: The federal planning secretary has said that the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project and the upgrading of the Pakistan Railways’ ML-I (Karachi-Lahore-Peshawar railway track) project will be implemented in the current phase of CPEC as these are the main focus areas in transport and infrastructure sector.

In a meeting with vice president of China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) Yang Jinjun here on Tuesday, planning secretary Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui said that the ML-I was strategically important while the KCR was an economically viable project.

“The projects have made headway and will start soon,” he said adding that there was a need for efficient and professional firms to build these mega projects at fast pace.

The secretary further highlighted that the policies of President Xi Jinping were taking China to new development stage through Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

“CPEC is the main pillar of the BRI that helped Pakistan to achieve economic growth of 5.8 per cent last year,” Mr Siddiqui added.

It was emphasised that Chinese firms should ensure capacity building of the local manpower by providing them on-job training and employment.

The officials also invited the attention of the CRCC to explore investment opportunities offered by special economic zones being implemented under CPEC.

Yang Jinjun expressed his full support to implement mega infrastructure projects in Pakistan with commitment and speed.

The CRCC informed that the company was already working in Pakistan and was interested in expending cooperation in infrastructure and industrial development sectors. The firm also expressed its commitment to work closely with Pakistan’s technical education institutes to ensure capacity-building of local youth and more employment in future.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2018