PM lays foundation stone of Special Economic Zone in Islamabad

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif laid the foundation stone of the Islamabad Model Special Economic Zone on Tuesday, 24NewsHD TV channel reported.

Addressing the participants, the prime minister said it is regretful that a project like this should have been started many years ago.

This project faced a five-year delay, he said, coming down hard on the last government. The prime minister stressed the need for the charter of the economy.

“The country is facing challenges but together we will cope with these challenges.

“We must agree on a charter of the economy to ensure continuity of policies for a stable economy.” 

PM Shehbaz said CPEC was an effort of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. CPEC was brought to a halt deliberately, he said, adding that the last government concocted a plot to damage diplomatic ties with the world.

He added: “The PTI regime remained busy with blame game and sloganeering.  Pakistan had an opportunity to bring in Chinese textile technology. But China was wrapping up its projects due to poor policies and the previous government’s intention.

IMF program is necessary for economic stability, he said stressing that the coalition government will not breach the deal.

The zone is under CPEC near Rawat and is the first such facility in the federal capital. Spanning over one thousand acres of prime industrial land at the junction of N-5 and Islamabad Expressway, the zone will have an investment worth 2.5 billion dollars and will create one thousand new employment opportunities. It will have a low carbon footprint industry in the country.

Earlier, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said the Special Economic Zones will be powerhouses for generating exports and increasing them to 100 billion dollars in the next few years.