Rashakai SEZ to be functional by the end of next year: Abdul Karim Khan

NOWSHERA: The Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Industry and Commerce Abdul Karim Khan said on Friday China made a huge investment for improving different sectors of the Pakistan economy.

“The game-changer China-Pakistan Economic Corridor [CPEC] has entered Phase-3 after successfully covering the earlier two phases,” he said while speaking at a function arranged here at the Rashakai Economic Zone on Friday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Sino-Pak diplomatic relations.

The officials of the Chinese embassy, representatives of the Chine Road and bridge Corporation, Industries Secretary Humayun Khan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zone Development and Management Company Chief Executive Officer Javed Khattak, Rashakai Economic Zone Estate Manager Sardar Ali and others spoke on the occasion as well.

A cake was cut and the national flags of the two countries were hoisted on the occasion by the special assistant to the chief minister and officials of the Chinese embassy.

Abdul Karim Khan said the Rashakai Economic Zone would be made functional by the end of next year after ensuring power, gas and other utilities there. “This economic zone will provide employment to a great number of local youth,” he pointed out.

The special assistant to the chief minister said that plots would be allotted in the Rashakai Economic Zone not through a draw but purely on merit on a first come and first-serve basis.

Abdul Karim Khan hoped the Rashakai Economic Zone would make this region a hub of trade with Central Asian Republics. He credited this zone to the efforts launched by the former chief minister Pervez Khattak and materialized by the present Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.