Lahore - Lahore: In connection with 10-year celebrations of CPEC, a 4-day series of visits by media delegation to various projects by the CPEC Punjab came to an end. The visits were organised by the Chinese Consulate Lahore and the Institute of International Relations and Media Research and briefings were given on Pakistan Matiari Lahore Transmission Line, Challenge Apparel and Sahiwal Power Plant on the third and fourth day.
Despite Pakistan’s economic situation facing difficulties, Chinese institutions and companies are busy in their work. During the visit, Pakistani men and women, working in Chinese companies, said that they are very happy as there is job security. Apart from this, they also have numerous facilities. Mis Chen Yan, CEO of Challenge Apparel, said that the Challenge Group is a large company in China and has a global reputation, which has established three garment institutions in Pakistan under the name of Apparel, Fashion and SEZ, where thousands of skilled Pakistanis are benefiting from employment.
According to Ma Desheng, Deputy CEO of Pakistan Matiari Lahore Transmission Line, this project is improving electricity transmission system in Pakistan, due to which the load-shedding of electricity in Lahore has decreased. The project will be operational by next year and then Lahore will be free from load-shedding.
Meanwhile, a visit to the 1320 megawatt Sahiwal Power Plant revealed that the plant is doing valuable work in imparting employment skills to the local people along with the required production of electricity. Chen Wei, vice president of the plant, said that the plant set up under CPEC has become a boon for skilling the local people along with the production of electricity. The management of the plant has constructed a technical training school with a cost of Rs500 million to make local people employable, where more than a thousand local students are given free master training in various fields on an annual basis. 171 students have been sent to modern power plants in China for further training. This school has emerged as a hub of Pakistan China cultural and technological exchange.
The management pays Rs200 million annually to the Punjab government for medical aid and clean drinking water under an agreement. It was told in a briefing that 86 percent of Pakistanis are involved in running the power plant successfully.
