While talking to the delegation led by Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong, here at the CM House Tuesday, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that his government has finalised a plan to establish China-Pakistan Industrial Zone (CPIZ) at Dhabeji and develop Keti Bandar Project for coal transportation.
The meeting was attended by provincial ministers Nisar Khuhro, Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, Acting Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, Secretary Energy Agha Wasif and others.
The chief minister said that the China-Pakistan Industrial Zone for which land has already been allocated would be attractive for investors, especially because of its proximity to Karachi and the proposed Keti Bandar project.
Murad Ali Shah said that his team led by Secretary Energy Agha Wasif had recently visited China to attend an important transport related meeting. They pleaded the case of Keti Bandar in the follow-up meetings and now the proposal of the project has been finalised.
The chief minister said that the CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC)’s meeting is scheduled to be held next month in China. “I have already directed my team to prepare a detailed feasibility report of Keti Bandar to be presented there”, he told the ambassador.
The envoy assured the chief minister of support and asked him to send the details of the project.
The chief minister giving details of the Keti Bandar project said that there would be a jetty to export coal, and coal-fired power plant(s) would also be installed there in the first phase.
“Power plants need fresh water which is not available at the Thar coalfield. Fresh water is available at Keti Bander and power generation would not a problem there,” he said and added that “a railway line from Keti Bander to Thar would be laid to transport coal for power generation and export,” he said.
The chief minister also briefed him on the second phase of the project in which a full-fledged seaport would be established.
Talking about the China-Pakistan Industrial Park, he said that he was keen for its inclusion in the CPEC so that its infrastructure could be developed. “The areas between Gharo and Dhabeji are an ideal place for industrial development as they are connected both through road networks and sea routes.
The Chinese Consul General Wang Yu, Deputy Consul General Mu Yongpend, and other senior Chinese officials were in the delegation.
