GWADAR, Pakistan, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Several projects, including a power plant, were inaugurated in Gwadar in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province on Monday, which will further promote the implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Inaugurating the Gwadar 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant project, Faqeer Colony Middle School expansion project and Gwadar Port Authority Commercial Complex Project, Ning Jizhe, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, who started his visit to Pakistan on Sunday till Thursday and attended the inauguration in Gwadar, said all these projects will greatly improve the access to electricity, education and commerce for local people in Gwadar.
The projects are a showcase of the long-standing friendship between the two countries, Ning added.
Sadiq Sanjrani, chairman of Pakistan Senate, told Xinhua that Gwadar was the gateway to progress and prosperity of not only Pakistan but the whole region, adding that CPEC will continue to stimulate development and attract investment to the country.
The Gwadar 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant project is jointly invested and developed by two Chinese companies with an aggregate investment of around 430 million U.S. dollars. When the power plant is put into commercial use, Gwadar's severe electricity shortage will be greatly alleviated.
China-Pakistan Government Primary School in Faqeer, donated by the China Foundation for Peace and Development (CFPD) and opened in 2016, now has about 600 students. CFPD will provide financial support to expand the project, with new facilities to be put into use in 2020.
Ning said that Gwadar is a land full of opportunities, but there are also difficulties and challenges, which can be overcome as long as China and Pakistan stand firmly together. Ning said the port city can be transformed into the most important logistics hub in the region, so as to bring more benefits to the people of Pakistan.
Chairman of Gwadar Port Authority Naseer Khan Kashani thanked China for the support, saying the potential of Gwadar is to some extent the future of Pakistan.
On behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese embassy in Pakistan, Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing donated solar energy facilities and school uniforms respectively to the local people in Gwadar and the Faqeer school during the inauguration ceremony.
