ISLAMABAD: Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan aside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have rejected to provide subsidies for the incentive package for Chinese dying industries to relocate to Pakistan.
This counts as a big setback for the prompt rollout of the second segment of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), reported Express Tribune.
Secretary, Board of Investment Samaira Siddiqui said Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan have refused to provide subsidized loans and land on discounted terms to developers of prioritized Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in a review meeting held on Monday.
The 53rd monthly review meeting was presided over by the Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal.
During the meeting, the Balochistan Development Authority (BDA) apprised the federal government that no federal land was available in Gwadar for the establishment of federal owned SEZ.
At the start of 2018, the Cabinet Committee on CPEC had said it would setup the SEZ on 50,000 acres of land.
After the conclusion of the meeting, Mr Iqbal said provinces originally had given consent to provide a subsidy for the special incentive package but now they had refused to provide any subsidy.
He added a meeting of the BOI with the finance ministry will take place to decide if it would be possible for the federal government to bear the cost of subsidies.
Planning Minister said a plan had been laid out, in which where land was expensive, the provinces were supposed to give out the land on concessionary terms.
But provinces believe the land was a provincial prerogative and the federal government could not order its owns terms.
It highlighted the incentive package was given go-ahead by the federal cabinet without due consideration.
