Bilawal performs groundbreaking of Dhabeji Special Economic Zone

KARACHI  -  Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhut­to Zardari has said that the Sindh government by starting an iconic Dhabeji Special Eco­nomic Zone (SEZ) has busted the myth of the launch of the Pakistan Peoples Party, say­ing that the organic political parties have failed to deliver, therefore they created an­other political party under the pretense of `bringing a change’ unleashing socio-political and economic de­struction in the country. Bi­lawal Bhutto Zardari said that the Sindh government has launched a number of mega projects in various sectors, including health, power gen­eration, and infrastructure development while others have done nothing except lip service making tall claims. “I congratulate Sindh Chief Min­ister Syed Murad Ali Shah and his team who materialized the dream of President Asif Ali Zardari who had negotiat­ed three important projects, Dhabeji SEZ, Keti Bunder, and Karachi Circular Railway with Chinese authorities.” 

He said this while speak­ing at the groundbreaking ceremony of Dhabeji SEZ at its site- Dhabeji. The cere­mony was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, provincial minis­ters Sharjeel Memon, Nasir Shah, Gianchand, Mayor Ka­rachi Murtaza Wahab, CM Special Assistant and host of the programme Syed Qasim Naveed, Chairman Sindh In­vestment Board Mohammad Waseem, MPA Riaz Shah Shi­razi, diplomats of different countries, investors, indus­trialists, and bureaucrats. 

Bilawal Bhutto said that it was President Asif Zardari who laid the foundation of the CPEC by giving Gwadar Port to China. “He made fre­quent visits to China during his tenure as President and negotiated the development of Pakistan, particularly the upliftment of industrial and road infrastructure, power generation, trade, and com­merce but he was criticised and targeted,” he said and added today the fruits of his frequent visits are being har­vested in the shape of CPEC projects under which Thar Coal-fired Power Project has started power generation, Dhabeji Special Economic Zone is being developed, and various road infrastruc­ture projects have been completed in the country. 

The Chairman PPP said that due to the vision of President Zardari economic stability developed in the country with the launching of CPEC projects. He added that the development of Gwadar Port and improve­ments being made at Kara­­chi Port was part of Zardari’s vision which was bound to bring prosperity generating employment opportunities. 

Bilawal Bhutto said that the concept of Public Private Part­nership (PPP) was envisioned by Shaheed Mohterma Bena­zir Bhutto in her 1993 election manifesto. He added that un­der the PPP plan, the govern­ment and private sector would work together to launch mega projects and development ac­tivities in partnership. “When the government works with the private sector as a devel­opment partner its benefits trickle down to the people in the shape of employment opportunities, development of their communication and industrial infrastructure, and the businessmen as partners reap the harvest,” Bilawal said and added the provincial gov­ernment carrying forward the concept of PPP constructed Karachi-Thatta dual carriage­way, Jhirk-Mulakatiar Bridge on River Indus, launched coal-mining with Engro for power generation in Thar and these projects were running successfully. The PPP Chief proudly said that the Public Private Partnership Unit of the Sindh Government has been recognised as the 6th best-performing unit by the International Intelligence Unit of the Economist. “The Econo­mist’s Intelligence Unit has issued rating Public Private Partnership proj­ects in progress in Asia,” he said and added under the rating Thailand, Phil­ippines, and China were at number one, number two, and number three respectively. “India is at four, Gujrat state of In­dia is at five while Sindh province at number 6,” he said and added num­ber seven has been given to Vietnam and Bangla­desh, and 9th rating has been awarded to Indone­sia, Kyrgyzstan, and Paki­stan. Bilawal Bhutto said that the rating showed that the PPP government has secured its interna­tional recognition for its performance. Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Mu­rad Ali Shah said that we have come together to celebrate the remarkable growth and resilience of Sindh’s economy, despite the global challenges we have faced. Murad Shah said that as we em­barked on the journey of the post-Covid era, our focus remained steadfast on revitalising Pakistan’s economy, with a special emphasis on the vibrant province of Sindh. “The Pakistan Peoples Party is committed to bring­ing about social devel­opment and economic prosperity, and the Dha­beji Special Economic Zone (SEZ) stands as a testament to our dedica­tion to that goal,” he said and invited investors, in­dustrialists, and traders to explore the Dhabeji SEZ, a thriving hub that brimmed with untapped investment opportuni­ties. Mr Shab said that positioned as a premier destination for both lo­cal and international businesses, the Dhabeji SEZ held the boundless potential for growth, in­novation, and prosperity. Murad Shah said that as we have gathered here for the groundbreaking ceremony, we reaffirmed our commitment to cre­ating an environment to nurture economic development and at­tract investments. “The Dhabeji SEZ offers a strategic location, me­ticulously planned in­frastructure, and sup­portive policies that provide an unparalleled platform for businesses to flourish,” he said. The CM extended a warm welcome to investments in various sectors, rang­ing from physical infra­structure and the social sector to clean energy and water management.