Pakistan offers projects worth billions to Gulf countries for investment

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's new Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) -- a hybrid civil-military forum -- has approved 28 projects worth billions of dollars that would be offered to Gulf countries for investment, including the construction of Diamer-Bhasha dam and mining operations at Reko Diq in Balochistan's Chagai district, the media reported.

The list of the approved projects suggests that if all the schemes are picked up by countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, the quantum of investment under the SIFC banner can be greater than the $28 billion under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Express Tribune reported.

Initially, the approved schemes are in the food, agriculture, information technology, mines and minerals, petroleum and power sectors. They include cattle farms; the $10 billion Saudi Aramco refinery; explorations of copper and gold in Chagai; and the Thar Coal Rail connectivity scheme.

The Diamer-Bhasha dam has also been offered to China for investment under CPEC.

In order to give legal cover to the SIFC working, parliament this week had approved a host of amendments to the Pakistan Army Act and the Board of Investment (BOI) Ordinance, Express Tribune reported.

Amendments to the Election Act have also been introduced to ensure the continuity of work on these schemes during the tenure of the caretaker government.

These laws will provide fast track execution of the initially approved 28 multi-billion dollars' investment projects, besides ensuring immunity to the decision-makers from any kind of investigation by various anti-graft bodies, Express Tribune reported.