"I am proud to say that, under the leadership of minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal, public money was spent with full fiduciary responsibility, transparency and financial integrity for the benefit of our people," the newly appointed finance minister said in his budget speech here at the Parliament House.
Highlighting government's special focus on $46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the minister said under the vision of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif CPEC initiative had become a global brand of Pakistan. CPEC investments were mainly in energy, road and transport infrastructure and Gwadar, he added.
"As part of CPEC, our Government initiated road projects that would link north of Pakistan with Gwadar," he said adding trans-Pakistan corridor of motorways and special economic zones are designed to provide jobs, enhance manufacturing base, and increase prosperity and growth."
Karachi-Lahore Motorway, Thakot-Havelian Motorway, Eastbay Expressway Gwadar, and many other link roads in Gilgit Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh are interlinking Pakistan like never before, he added.
As part of CPEC, the Government has also finalized a plan to increase the speed of trains on Main Line-I from Peshawar to Karachi by 3 times. The current average speed of trains on ML-I is 55 km per hour, which will be increased to160 km per hour by 2021, he added.
The project envisages doubling of track from Karachi to Peshawar and from Taxila to Havalian. This requires an investment of more than $8 billion. This will enable people to travel from North to South in 12 hours or even less, he added.