Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Prof Ahsan Iqbal said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was gift of nature which offered great opportunities for every sector of economy.
The federal minister was of the view that the CPEC project would make Pakistan centre of trade and commerce in the region of three billion population. “South Asia, China and Central Asia are three engines of growth and Pakistan lies right in the heart of these three engines,” he added.
Addressing the closing ceremony of IAPEX-2016 (Institute of Architects Pakistan Exhibition) at a local hotel late Saturday night, he said through the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, the vision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was to create an infrastructure of regional connectivity which would bring tremendous opportunities in every area of Pakistan.
Prof Ahsan Iqbal said that the present government worked in critical areas which were pressing challenges in 2013 and it had made great progress; and today Pakistan had turned the tide on positive and upward trajectory which gave them hope and inspiration for a better future. He was of the view that the CPEC was a very important theme for Pakistan’s architects and a great inspiration for the nation, and hoped that architects of today would develop their full creative skills to harness the opportunities of their time and leave behind the legacies in shape of landmarks and a rich heritage for future.
In the first phase of CPEC, Gwadar was being constructed into a modern and smart seaport city of 21st century and there were immense opportunities for the architects to define the character and aesthetics of a new city that would become an international city. “I will urge the Institute of Architect Pakistan to develop a master plan which can define the architectural character for this city,” he added. Similarly, the CPEC would also entail number of industrial zones/cities and roads network, he added.
The federal minister said: “Pakistan had started its journey from zero mark as we did not get due share of assets when the partition took place. We did not even had pen for our officers and pin to clip our papers; and from that point, we turned around as today we have become modern industrialised economy which is producing heavy engineering items like aircrafts, automobiles. It has become one of the biggest textile producers, and seventh nuclear power in the world. It has many top 10 hallmarks within its economy. So from no life to where we stand today, this journey was not possible if we had not achieved successes.”
The federal minister said that in 2013, Pakistan had power shortages of 20 hours and her economy was taking nose down die and many pundits were saying that Pakistan might default by 2014 but today “I am happy to say that the entire international community is now looking at Pakistan as one of the most successful turnaround stories, as we reduced the energy outage from 20 hours to 6 and 8 hours and by 2018, we will overcome it completely.”
Three years ago, he said, the terrorists were on the offensive and the state was under siege; “but today, the state is on the offensive and they (terrorists) are hiding and running to find refuge. So the country is much more secure than it was three years ago, and we will not rest until we make our country fully safe and secure in all respects.” He said in 2013, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves dropped to as low as USD 6 billion and today these reserves had crossed USD 21 billion.