ISLAMABAD: The Parliamentary Committee on China Pakistan Economic Corridor met on Tuesday (in-camera) at the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) to discuss the progress of ongoing CPEC projects as well as implementation status of the previous recommendations.
As per the agenda, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Zaidi apprised the committee about the tax exemptions and concessions offered to the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and also assured the committee of his department’s support and cooperation for the promotion of business-friendly environment in the country, particularly with regard to industrial projects being proposed under the umbrella of SEZs.
The FBR chairman also took part in a discussion where his department was advised to take such measures that protect the interest of the industrialists investing in the SEZs and provide an environment that promotes ease of doing business.
The officials of the Ministry of Petroleum and the Sui gas companies (SNGPL/SSGC) also given a detailed plan for the provision of gas (indigenous or other sources) to harvest the SEZs.
Committee chairman MNA Sher Ali Arbab once again highlighted the issue of “the actual demand of gas” and “the precise future estimation” in order to calculate the real demand so that SNGPL/SSGCL could lay their pipelines keeping in view the demand, source of supply (terminal) and economic viability.
The chairman further directed the Ministry of Petroleum, Board of Investment and SNGPL/SSGCL to hold a meeting and discuss this matter in detail from all dimensions and come back to the committee with workable plan within 15 days.
The meeting was attended by MNAs Noor Alam Khan, Khan Muhammad Jamali, Zille Huma, Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Raza Rabbani, Zahid Akram Durrani, Senators Dr Shehzad Waseem, Khushbakht Shujat and the BOI secretary.
