Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the work on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects is in progress and energy projects worth billions of dollars are being set up in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KP), Balochistan, Punjab and other areas of the country.
He expressed these views while addressing a ceremony arranged by Chinese company Hauneng Shandong Ruyi, working on Sahiwal coal power plant, for distribution of certificates among the engineers at University of Engineering and Technology.
Shehbaz said that coal-based power projects in Sahiwal and Port Qasim will be completed by the end of next year and 2640 megawatts of electricity will be produced.
He said that completion of power projects under the CPEC will help overcome energy crisis. Shehbaz Sharif said that the friendship between Pakistan and China is unprecedented and China has always stood by Pakistan in the hour of need, adding that Pakistan is proud of its friendship with China.
The chief minister said that the visit of Chinese president was postponed in 2014 due to the purposeless sit-ins by the opposition parties, and power projects in the country were delayed, adding that had this visit not been postponed a number of energy projects would have been in the final stages of completion.
Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Chinese Consul General Yu Boren, Chief Executive Officer of the Chinese company Song Taji, Member National Assembly Pervaiz Malik, Member Provincial Assembly Bao Akhtar, Vice Chancellor Engineering University Dr. Fazal Khalid, faculty members, professors,students and officials of the Chinese company were present. The chief minister distributed certificates among the engineers completing their course and congratulated them.