Pakistan Today

CPEC western route feasibility to be completed by October

The Upper House of the Parliament was informed on Friday that the government is giving priority to the construction of the western route of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

During question hour, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Shaikh Aftab Ahmad told the Senate that serious steps have been taken for development of missing links in the western route of the project.

As many as Rs 10 billion have been allocated in the annual Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for technical study, land acquisition and construction of missing link from Islamabad to DI Khan, he said.

The feasibility of the project has been started and is expected to be completed by October this year. As many as Rs 5 billion have been allocated for rehabilitation of DI Khan-Mughal Kot section and Mughlakot-Zhob section of N-50 damaged during 2010 floods.

Moreover, the minister said the process for hiring consultants has been initiated to conduct the feasibility study for dualisation of link from Sohrab to Chaman while the bidding process has also been initiated for East Bay Express in Gwadar.

Shaikh Aftab told the House that the country’s foreign exchange reserves currently stand at Rs 18.8 billion due to government’s successful economic policy. He said the government is taking measures to curtail its fiscal deficit by curtailing expenditure and generating additional revenues.

The minister said the government is expecting to receive additional assistance from multilateral and bilateral sources and has also planned to access international market for the issuance of bonds and privatisation of public sector entities.

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