Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif on Tuesday assured the high powered Chinese delegation that all issues and bottlenecks impeding the energy projects will be removed to complete the projects in an a timely manner.
Vice Administrator of Chinese National Energy Administration (NEA) Li Fanrong along with his delegation called on Federal Minister for Water and Power and Defense Khawaja Asif to review progress of CPEC energy projects.
The delegation is on a visit to Pakistan to review progress on CPEC energy projects. Formal talks between the Pakistani and Chinese teams will be held on Wednesday in Lahore. The issues of transportation of coal from sea to the power plants in Punjab as well as of power transmission lines are hot discussion agenda items, a source privy to talks said.
An official statement said that during the meeting, Li Fanrong said that for the timely completion of the projects it is of utmost importance that the bottlenecks are removed and the Chinese workers in Pakistan working on various CPEC projects are provided full security.
“Our aim is to complete all the energy projects in their given timeframe and to benefit the Pakistani people by fulfilling their electricity needs by 2018,” Li Fanrong said.
The minister lauded the NEA and said CPEC covered a lot of ground in a short time owing to the effective and efficient working of NEA. He assured Li Fanrong that all the issues and bottlenecks impeding the energy projects will be removed to ensure smooth implementation and timely completion of the projects. “All relevant ministries will be contacted and issues that arise will be discussed and resolved,” the minister added.
Khawaja Asif said that all necessary measures will be taken to ensure the safety and security of Chinese workers working on different CPEC projects. CPEC will be a success story of the region and will further strengthen the Pak-China economic relations. He impressed upon his interlocutors to work on fast track basis on all energy projects to ensure their timely completion.
The minister welcomed the vice administrator of NEA and his delegation and said that Pakistan attaches special emotions and importance to China and highly values its relation with that country. Vice Administrator of NEA Li Fanrong said that China and Pakistan have cordial relations and both countries have assisted each other in difficult times.
