ISLAMABAD: Amid unease of three cabinet members, the Cabinet Com­mittee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on Monday decided to start financing discussions with China on the $8.2bn Main Railway Line (ML-1) project and cleared a draft CPEC Authority bill for cabinet approval.

Informed sources told Dawn that Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had expressed displeasure over almost no progress by the planning authorities on ML-1 despite being a strategic project, while Adviser to the Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Hussain was critical of creating yet another organisation despite financial crunch.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar presided over the meeting. It was attended by Sheikh Rashid and Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi, Dr Ishrat Hussain, prime minister’s adviser Abdul Razak Dawood, Planning Commission deputy chairman Dr Jahanzeb Khan and federal secretaries.

Clears draft CPEC Authority bill for cabinet approval

Sheikh Rashid told the meeting that it was painful for him to say that the Planning Commission had become the biggest hurdle in the way of launching ML-1 and no decision had been taken whether or not to give the project to China. He said the project had been slowed down ever since the government had entered into an IMF programme. An official quoted the railways minister as telling the meeting that he would take people into confidence over the issue.

A senior official of the Planning Commission explained that there was still no framework agreement on the ML-1 project.

After further discussions, the “committee decided that financing discussion on ML-1 project should be commenced to finalise the mode and PC-1 of the project”, said an official statement.

Mr Bakhtyar reiterated that ML-1 was a very important project under the CPEC portfolio and the government was committed to fast-tracking it.

Sources said Dr Ishrat and Mr Dawood questioned the wisdom behind a large CPEC Authority when a major part of the CPEC had already been completed. Dr Ishrat said there was no need to have 70-80 staff for the proposed authority for CPEC, expected to be completed by 2024, at a time when the country was facing financial crunch. He said it was against the spirit of the government’s austerity programme and called for rationalising the strength of the proposed authority to ensure that there were no issues of their salaries and other expenditures over the medium term.

Mr Dawood endorsed these views, saying the organisation should be lean and equipped with a few smart people. He is reported to have told the participants that how painful it could be to sever jobs if these became redundant at a later stage.

It was reported that around 50 staff currently working under the CPEC were being given monthly contracts instead of one-year contracts as was the case in the past which created unrest in the workforce. It was explained that fresh induction would be made for positions like chairman of the authority and executive directors, directors and sectoral members, but the existing staff would be given priority marks.

The planning and development secretary briefed the meeting on various projects under the CPEC framework.

The planning and development minister directed that progress on the Rashakai Special Economic Zone be fast-tracked to ensure its groundbreaking before the 9th Joint Coordination Committee of CPEC in October. He said the CPEC was now entering the next phase with incorporation of additional areas and sectors and for this purpose there was a need for an integrated entity in the form of CPEC Authority. It was decided that draft act of the authority would be presented to the federal cabinet for approval.

About the Rashakai Special Economic Zone, the meeting was informed that negotiations on development agreement were in final stages with the China Road & Bridge Corporation (CRBC). The committee directed that early provision of utilities to the Rashakai SEZ be ensured on priority so that its groundbreaking could be performed next month.

Mr Bakhtyar reiterated that the government was committed to providing incentives for SEZs, including 100 per cent repatriation of profits.

The committee also decided to present land use plan for the Gwadar Smart Port City to the cabinet after incorporating recommendations of the Balochistan government.

Energy projects, including 300MW Gwadar coal power plant, Kohala hydropower project (1,124MW) and Thar coal projects, and infrastructure projects, including Multan-Sukkur Motorway and Orange Line Train, were also discussed.

The meeting was told that the Multan-Sukkur Motorway would be inaugurated soon, while civil works on the Orange Line Train project would be completed by December.

The planning and development minister emphasised that all stakeholders should resolve pending issues pertaining to the CPEC projects at the earliest to accrue maximum benefits from the forthcoming the Joint Cooperation Committee. It was decided that the next meeting of the Cabinet Committee on CPEC would be convened in September.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2019