GWADAR: The parliamentary committee on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on Sunday recommended expediting the process of completion of the new Gwadar International Airport and avoid an unnecessary delay in construction work either by Pakistan or China.
The committee presided over by its chairman, Sher Ali Arbab, directed that institutional efforts should be expedited so that the Chinese can be asked to meet the given timelines for the project.
The meeting was attended by MNAs Mr Sadaqat Ali Abbasi, Noor Alam Khan, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Zahid Akram Durrani and Muhammad Aslam Bhootani.
The chairman observed that the new airport was utmost importance for attracting investors and exploiting the strategic location of Gwadar.
The meeting was apprised about the progress of New Gwadar International Airport, which the chairman said would prove conducive in effective operationalisation of Gwadar port if approved timely.
The committee was also briefed on various infrastructure, energy and socio-economic development projects for Gwadar under the CPEC framework, in addition to briefings on Gwadar Port Free Zone, East Bay Expressway and Pak-China Technical and Vocational Institute.
The meeting was informed that the Gwadar Free Zone Policy has been approved. The policy provides potential incentives for imports and exports and will pay way for further triggering economic activities in Pakistan.
The committee, while expressing concerns over the difficulties faced by local fishermen at Gwadar, recommended that their issues be resolved at the earliest.
Furthermore, given the importance of Gwadar for the successful implementation of CPEC, the committee decided to convene a special meeting to sort out energy related issues with other stakeholders to ensure the timely completion of the specific projects.
