China-Pakistan Economy Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman Lieutenant General (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa has said that after successful completion of phase one, the country is gearing up for the phase-II of the multi-billion dollar project, envisioned to generate massive employment opportunities for Pakistanis.

Bajwa, tweeting from his fresh Twitter handle for the first time, said the CPEC project with across the board acceptability, is already bringing relief in energy and infrastructure sectors.

“Time to gear up for phase-II which is envisioned to generate mass employment through more projects, mass industrialisation, agricultural and socio-economic uplift,” he wrote.

The statement comes a week after Prime Minister Imran Khan directed all concerned ministries to set goals for schemes and ensure inter-governmental coordination for early conclusion of phase two of the multibillion-dollar project.

Lt-Gen (retd) Bajwa, the former DG ISPR who has also served as commander Southern Command, was appointed as the first chairman of the newly-established CPEC Authority in November last year. The Authority was established through a presidential ordinance in October for coordination, monitoring and evaluation to ensure implementation of CPEC-related activities.

Commenting on progress made so far in the project, Bajwa said nine projects have already been completed, producing 5,320MW electricity with the investment of US $7.9 billion. The energy generating projects, he said, have provided jobs to 5,000 Pakistani citizens.

The CPECA chairman further added that eight more similar projects are being constructed to generate 4,470MW electricity with an investment of another US $ 9.55 billion and would provide employment to over 15,000 Pakistanis.