STORY: China-donated seawater desalination plant to resolve water shortage in Pakistan's Gwadar: PM
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 4, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 8, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:27
LOCATION: Islamabad
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the desalination plant
2. SOUNDBITE (Urdu): ANWAR-UL-HAQ KAKAR, Pakistani Prime Minister
3. various of Pak-China Friendship Hospital

STORYLINE:

The China-donated seawater desalination plant will resolve water shortage in Gwadar district of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, which has been the biggest problem in the area for many years, Pakistani Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar has said.

The water shortage has been the largest hurdle in the development of Gwadar district, the prime minister said on Monday while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the China-aided desalination project and upgrade of the Pak-China Friendship Hospital in Gwadar.

SOUNDBITE (Urdu): ANWAR-UL-HAQ KAKAR, Pakistani Prime Minister
"I know that for the last many years this (water shortage) has been a very serious problem and there are problems associated with it. Today, we are present here and with the blessing of this desalination plant, at least a very big problem of water shortage, to some extent, is going to be resolved with this project."

The desalination plant will provide 5,000 tons per day of potable water.

Additionally, the China-donated Pak-China Friendship Hospital has been upgraded from having 50 beds to 150 beds with necessary medical equipment, while the hospital has emergency department, outpatient department, inpatient department, medical technology department, and administration and supporting system.

Pakistan and China should work together to build Gwadar into a high-quality port, regional trade center and connectivity hub, the prime minister added.

On the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong said that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners.

Both countries have actively promoted the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and worked hard to bring the benefits of the CPEC development to all the people of Pakistan, the ambassador said, adding that the Gwadar port has made great progress in its construction and operation as a leading project of the CPEC.

China is willing to work with Pakistan to coordinate on security and development and advance the high-quality construction of the CPEC, the Chinese envoy said.

Launched in 2013, the CPEC, a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, is a corridor linking the Gwadar port in southwestern Pakistan with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Islamabad.
(XHTV)