Pakistan National Assembly body to inspect CPEC progress

The itinerary issued by the National Assembly Secretariat shows that the members plan to visit the port city of Balochistan on September 27

Members of the National Assemblys Standing Committee on Planning and Development will visit Gwadar to physically inspect the progress in implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Besides reviewing the progress of work on various projects being executed under the CPEC as well as the Public Sector Development Programme, the committee members will receive a briefing from the federal and provincial authorities on the establishment of a university in Gwadar, Dawn online reported on Tuesday.

The itinerary and agenda issued by the National Assembly Secretariat shows that the members plan to visit the port city of Balochistan on September 27.

The members of the committee, headed by Abdul Majeed Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, will also receive a presentation on the "role, function and funding of University of Turbat and establishment of its campus in Gwadar", according to the agenda.

Gwadar is at the centre of the $46 billion CPEC project and more than $1 billion worth of projects are to be developed around its port by December 2017.

Addressing the participants of the conference, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had announced that the corridor's western route would be constructed first for which funds would be released soon.

The CPEC project will benefit all regions of Pakistan equally including Gilgit Baltistan and remote areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to officials.

It aims to link Gwadar to China's Xinjiang region via a vast network of highways and railways, allowing China access to the Arabian Sea, and making Pakistan a regional manufacturing hub and an attractive market for foreign direct investment (FDI).