TAHIR AMIN

ISLAMABAD: The western route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), required for effective connectivity to Gwadar Port, would be completed by 2018, claimed Chairman National Highways Authority (NHA) Shahid Ashraf Tarar on Friday.

“Pak-China working group on CPEC will meet in June or July where strategy would be devised for early completion of infrastructure projects,” said the NHA chairman while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Communication. The committee met with Daud Khan Achakzai in the chair, here on Friday.

The committee raised several questions while saying that provinces have no representation in the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of the CPEC and federal government take decisions in isolation.

The government is not even sharing information/details related to CPEC agreement and presents lame excuses that it is an agreement between the two countries.

Tarar said that Sukkur-Multan Motorway is being funded by China while Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta mass transit projects would be completed on priority basis.

It is worth mentioning that NHA chairman had earlier stated that the western route falling in the CPEC has been conceived under the short-term project and not as early harvest, which would be completed by 2020 and not by 2018. He further said that land has been acquired for the DI Khan-Yarik Motorway, while new project DI Khan-Zhob has been included in CPEC.

The committee chairman said that the federal government is dealing all matters related to CPEC by itself and not sharing information with the Parliament. He said the Senate of Pakistan had asked for details of CPEC related agreements, loans, investment and exact route, however, in response to which documents were kept in chamber of chairman Senate.

He further said that the Prime Minister has kept the charge of the Communication Ministry with himself due to which the Parliament is being deprived of accountability. “When this committee asks NHA about the details, the Authority communicates us to contact Planning Commission for details,” he added.

The committee chairman further said that after accomplishing all CPEC related matters, the Prime Minister took chief ministers on China visit. The committee, Parliament and chief ministers were not informed about the last five meetings of the JCC.

He further said the NHA/government has even passed the trade convoy from the western route, but ground realities are totally different. Instead of construction work at western route of CPEC, work on common route is under way.

Kamil Ali Agha said that the cost of Lahore Orange Metro Line reached Rs 200 billion against the initial estimate of Rs 37 billion.

Currently, China is financing only two projects namely, Havilian–Thakot and Multan-Sukkur road projects under the CPEC, while several other road projects are being financed by Asian Development Bank and the government of Pakistan through PSDP, USAID and other multilateral institutions, Tarar added.

The committee chairman said that Quetta Mass Transit project is not practical as the first PC-1 was of Rs 15 billion while the second PC-1 is of Rs 100 billion. Such projects could not be implemented.

The NHA chairman while briefing the committee on Lyari Expressway said that due to unavailability of land, the project started in 2004 is still not completed. The committee recommended that the Expressway should be opened in Ramazan to give relief to the public. The NHA chairman said that Lyari Expressway would be completed and opened on August 14, which would help in minimising traffic problems. He assured the committee that the completed portion of Expressway would be opened in Ramazan to provide relief to the public. He further said that Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway would also be completed by August.