The Board of Investment (BOI) on Tuesday recommended 12 points for establishment of economic zones in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The board has come up with the recommendations on the directives of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.
In Balochistan, five points have been recommended for establishment of Turbat Industrial and Training Estate and Bostan Industrial Estate on 1,000 acre, Industrial Estate Khuzdar and Disht Industrial zone on 5,000 acres while the fifth economic zone has been recommended to be built in Qilla Saifullah, Zohb and Loralai’s Sangam.
The rest of the seven points have been recommended from KP. Marble and Granite Industrial Estate Mansehra on 80 acres, industrial estate Nowshera on 1,000 acres near Sher Khan Interchange, extension of Hattar Industrial Estate Phase VII on 424 acres, 188-acre Dera Ismail Khan Industrial Estate, 1,000-acres industrial estate in Kohat and Kirk jointly and Ghazi Industrial Estate, Hattar II and proposed industrial and economic zone on 400 acres.
Under the $46-billion CPEC project, different routes will be laid out that will connect Gwadar with other parts of the country boosting trade and economy of the region.
However, opposition parties including Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have expressed reservations over the project. The opposition has stated that the prime minister must take all political parties into confidence especially on the Western route of the project. The KP government has also expressed reservations against what it calls deviation from the decisions reached in the All Parties Conference regarding the route.
