PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government and the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) have inked four memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth $10.86 billion for the launch of two new cities and three other development projects to promote development in the province. The ceremony was held at the Chief Minister (CM) House on Monday.
While CPEC City and Peshawar Model Town are projects geared towards transforming the landscape of the province, three hydroelectric power plants are planned to be set up in Chitral, an oil refinery in Karak and a cement factory in Haripur.
Talking to the media, CM Pervez Khattak said, “The CPEC City project will cost around $4.4 billion, and 62,000 residential plots will be constructed in the mega housing project spread over 80,000 kanal. The Model Town in Peshawar costing around $4.6 billion will be spread over an area of 108,000 kanal with 81,000 plots.”
Elaborating on the other three development projects, Khattak said, “The 600 megawatts hydroelectric power plants will cost $1.10 billion, oil refinery $600 million and cement factory $160 million.” He went on to add that no loan will be acquired for the projects. The projects will be built on Build-Own-Transfer basis. He added that there will be no investment on the part of the government.
“We are profiting from them [FWO] in various shapes … we will get a share from their profit,” he said, adding that the K-P government would extend full support to the FWO.
Khattak also apprised that the provincial government is also working on inking agreements with Chinese companies on the same lines where profit is made without having to invest any money.
Khattak further stated that the CPEC City will be planned near the motorway on Colonel Sher Khan (Interchange) and Peshawar Model Town is to be situated between Peshawar and Nowshera.
Explaining the working of the profiting schematics, he said, “If 16 plots are established then one will be given to the K-P government.”
As per Khattak’s estimates, the K-P government is likely to earn Rs50 billion in profit without any investment.