Second phase of CPEC crucial for Pakistan's development: Official

The second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is crucial for the economic development of Pakistan, local media quoted Chairman of CPEC Authority Asim Saleem Bajwa as saying on Thursday.

Aerial photo taken on Aug. 6, 2019 shows the Sahiwal Coal Power Plant in Sahiwal, Punjab Province, Pakistan, a major investment project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). [Photo/Xinhua]

The second phase of the multi-billion-dollar economic cooperation between Pakistan and China will have a special emphasis on agriculture, industry, trade, and science and technology, Bajwa said in an interaction with local media.

He said that the Pakistani government's priority about the second phase of CPEC is to make special economic zones functional, besides development projects in Gwadar, according to the report.

Bajwa, who also holds the additional position of the special assistant to the Pakistani prime minister on information and broadcasting, said that work for the completion of CPEC is in progress on a fast pace.

"There is no political hindrance in its way. The project is Pakistan's future as well as a tangible reality and no compromise will be made on it," local media quoted the official as saying.

Bajwa said Pakistan takes decisions which are within the best interest of the country and there is a political consensus that CPEC is the best for the interest of the country and for that matter "no external pressure against CPEC will be accepted," according to the report.

Many projects focusing on infrastructure and energy sectors in the first phase of CPEC have been completed and are already operational, and work on the second phase is underway.