ISLAMABAD: The Reko Diq gold and copper mining project workers, as well as the logistics and transportation from the project site to Gwadar port, must be protected at all times, according to orders from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
According to a statement released by the PM Office on Sunday, Mr. Sharif gave the order while presiding over a meeting about the Reko Diq project in Lahore.
Through a video link, a delegation from Barrick Gold, the Canadian mining corporation involved in the project, led by CEO Mark Bristow, took part in the discussion.
The prime minister declared that all impediments to the project should be removed and that official consultations with all interested parties should take place.
Wants a feasibility study for a road and rail connection between the mine and the port of Gwadar.
According to him, plans should be started to upgrade the nation’s train system and other communication facilities in order to better use Balochistani minerals. As soon as feasible, he said, work should be finished upgrading the roads that connect the Gwadar port to the Reko Diq project.
He said that wherever new roads were being built, the rate of work should be accelerated.
According to the prime, a plan should be developed to assess if building a road and rail network between Reko Diq and the port of Gwadar is feasible.
He emphasized that access to the port would be quick and simple thanks to the railway line project from Reko Diq to Gwadar, and it would be closer than it would be from the port of Bin Qasim.
He stated that the mineral-rich Chagai district would gain from the new railway line and that the mining sector would grow. He also requested a thorough briefing on the Reko Diq road and rail link project for next week.
Additionally, he gave the order to remove all formal obstacles in order to expedite the completion of the environmental and social impact assessments related to the Reko Diq project.
The attendees in the conference were informed that the Reko Diq project’s viability will be finished by December of this year.
Six thousand containers would be shipped from the Reko Diq project to the port each month. The project’s concentrate pipeline would be the world’s second-longest slurry pipeline. In addition, the mining corporation would construct the Reko Diq to N-40 National Highway connecting road.
The 103-kilometer Nokandi to Mashkhel route, which would link Reko Diq to the Gwadar port, was reported to be 58% finished to the meeting.
High-ranking officials, including Planning Commission Department Chairman Muhammad Jehanzeb, Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik, and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, attended the meeting.
