A Pakistani parliamentary committee on Friday concluded that no ‘tangible progress’ had been made in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in Balochistan since 2017. Despite recommendations and provision of gas and electricity supply to the intended Special Economic Zones, the achievement of the requisite results still seems far-fetched and a ‘farce.’
According to details, Sherry Rehman, the convener of the said committee and the Parliamentary Leader of the PPP in Pakistan senate, said that the planning ministry officials have provided ‘insufficient information’ about the uplift schemes, emphasizing that the parliaments need to be taken seriously.
Ms Rehman said: “Briefing given by the [planning] ministry and its various allied departments is insufficient and lacks details on many aspects.”
“The departments are shifting responsibility on one another and there seems to be no institutional collaboration.”
The special committee directed the secretary of the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives to prioritize the CPEC umbrella projects specified for Balochistan.
The convener further said that the committee had discussed two projects from Balochistan: the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and the provision of energy to Gwadar. The SEZs seemed a ‘farce’, whereas the Gwadar energy project has been caught in Nepra traffic since 2017 and still fails to untangle itself. “The federal government is misrepresenting the facts on projects in Balochistan.”
Ms Rehman said that the CPEC projects received Public Sector Development Programme funding and therefore have remained quiescent. She said that the planning ministry’s approach to the development projects of the corridor in Balochistan has been “disappointing.”
“We have decided that the planning minister will address the agenda on Balochistan himself”, she said, directing Mathar Niaz Rana to prioritize the umbrella projects of CPEC in Balochistan.
Another member of the committee resented that it is “unfortunate” that a large-scale electricity grid could not be constructed in Balochistan due to the non-availability of funds.