Specific construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

The 820 km-long China-Pakistan Cross-Border Optical Fibre Cable project starts from Rawalpindi near Islamabad in the south to the Khunjerab Pass crossing between China and Pakistan in the north, and is connected to the fibre optic cable in China. The China-Pakistan cross-border fibre optic cable is the first cross-border direct land fibre optic cable connecting China and Pakistan, and is also a key construction project for the interconnection of the communication networks of China and Pakistan under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The project provides a new path for China and Pakistan to share digital information and realise the connectivity of strategic land communication facilities between China and Pakistan, which is of great significance in improving the telecommunications infrastructure of Pakistan, promoting the development of information technology and facilitating information interconnection between China and Pakistan.

Suki Kinari Hydropower Station

The Suki Kinari Hydropower Project (SK Project) is one of the priority projects of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. With an investment of US$1.962 billion, the project is being constructed by Gezhouba Group on an “invest-build-operate-transfer” basis.

The SK project is located in the Khyber province of Pakistan, approximately 256 km from Islamabad. The power station is proposed to install four impact generating units with a total installed capacity of approximately 873,500 kilowatts and an average annual power generation capacity of 3.081 billion kilowatt hours.

On 29 September 2019, the dam was successfully intercepted and the Suki Kinari Hydropower Station achieved a milestone.

Karot Hydropower Station

Built on the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus River in northern Pakistan, with a total installed capacity of 720,000 kilowatts and a total investment of over US$1.7 billion, the Karot Hydropower Station is a priority project for energy cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and a key project under “the Belt and Road” Initiative. It is also the first hydropower investment project to be included in the joint declaration of the Chinese and Pakistani governments. Upon completion, the station will provide more than 3.2 billion kWh of clean energy to Pakistan each year, and is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3.5 million tons per year, promoting energy construction and economic and social development in Pakistan while optimising the energy mix and helping to achieve the global goal of “carbon neutrality”.

Strategic significance of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

“The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a definite leap forward for Pakistan, which will benefit the country, its people and even future generations. In this regard, social groups, political parties, the military, all levels of government, society and the media and parliament, are all warmly welcomed and heartily expected.

Completely change the predicament of energy shortage in Pakistan

Pakistan’s infrastructure is backward and there is a shortage of energy and electricity, with the country’s summer electricity shortage sometimes reaching 5,000 megawatts. This is a direct drag on economic development, as well as on the improvement of people’s livelihoods and even on the development of defence construction. The “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor” will first solve the energy crisis in Pakistan, and will also fundamentally solve the shortage of energy and electricity. And on the basis of energy security, then Pakistan can carry out the industrial field of cooperation, the establishment of industrial parks and industrial centres.

Comprehensively boost the economic development of Pakistan.

The construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor focuses on the Gwadar port, transport infrastructure, energy and industrial cooperation, forming a “1+4” cooperation layout. The two sides signed 51 cooperation agreements in the fields of transport infrastructure, energy, agriculture, trade, finance, health, media, marine science, education and so on. This will lead to cooperation between China and Pakistan in major projects, infrastructure, energy and resources, agriculture and water resources, information and communications, and other areas along the corridor, as well as the creation of more industrial parks and free trade zones. It will go through many backward areas of Pakistan, where there is no development, the arrival of the economic corridor, will make there to get revolutionary changes, which even change the fate of Pakistan and the whole region.

Pakistan will become a regional hub for business investment.

The construction of the economic corridor through, on the one hand, can expand the import and export of goods and personnel exchanges between China and Pakistan, to promote the re-export trade in Pakistan; on the other hand, will make Pakistan a regional commercial investment hub. With many regions in East Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia connected, goods from many countries will pass through Pakistan, which can greatly increase tax revenue, and also allow the flow of people, logistics and information flow, etc. to converge and spread here.

The economic situation of people will also be improved.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) can cover all regions of Pakistan and will benefit all provinces and regions of Pakistan. Wherever this economic belt passes through, new schools, hospitals, factories, etc. will be built, which will create a lot of employment opportunities and will give a strong impetus to the local economic development. With this, the economy of Pakistan will grow, the living standards of people will improve and the overall power and influence of the country will be greatly enhanced. This will also undoubtedly add iron to iron in the friendship between China and Pakistan, making China and Pakistan a true community of destiny!

Eight years of fruitful construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

Reviewing the achievements since the construction of the corridor, Asim Saleem Bajwa, an expert on China-Pakistan relations and former Chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Affairs Bureau, said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects have been progressing smoothly over the past eight years, with fruitful results achieved in the first phase: ” Pakistan’s energy shortage has been greatly alleviated, transport infrastructure has been better built, and the corridor projects have created a large number of jobs and positions for Pakistani people during the construction process, and these achievements have laid a solid foundation for the next phase of the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.” He believed that as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor progresses, Pakistan will see more investment opportunities and more factories will be located in the Special Economic Zone, which will help to continue to enhance the development of Pakistan’s industry, agriculture, science and technology information and other fields, benefiting more Pakistani people.

Now that the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has entered the second phase, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Affairs Bureau was officially established on 12 September 2019 for the smooth cooperation between China and Pakistan in a wider range of areas. Bajwa, who has served as the chairman of the Bureau, believes that since its establishment, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Bureau has been committed to providing communication and coordination between different government departments and between the central and local governments for the corridor project, which has greatly reduced communication resistance for the Chinese companies responsible for the construction of the project. Bajwa said, “The Bureau follows up and assists in the entire process of the Corridor projects from planning to implementation, and we have a good understanding of the progress of each project in the Corridor to ensure that it can move forward smoothly.”

In particular, referring to the Western media’s speculation on China’s “debt trap theory”, Bajwa said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the flagship project of “the Belt and Road” and is the largest economic cooperation project of Pakistan in this century. He pointed that “The debt associated with the Corridor is less than 5 per cent of Pakistan’s overall debt portfolio and the accusation that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a ‘debt trap’ is unfounded and totally wrong and has ulterior motives!”

Bajwa mentioned that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has contributed to the socio-economic development of Pakistan, provided a large number of employment opportunities and made an important contribution to improving the livelihood of Pakistanis. China has set an example and provided valuable experience for Pakistan in eradicating poverty and improving the living standards of its citizens. According to Bajwa, Prime Minister Imran Khan has also expressed his admiration for China’s achievements on several occasions. The two countries will also focus on poverty eradication, and many relevant projects are currently being evaluated and approved, and the Pakistani side hopes to work with China to develop more projects to promote Pakistan’s socio-economic development.

The Gwadar Port project is of great significance as the leading project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Prime Minister Imran Khan recently arrived in Gwadar to inspect the progress of the construction of Gwadar Port and attended the opening ceremony of the new project. Bajwa said that Gwadar Port is the hub of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and its construction and operation is vital to local development. The first phase of the Gwadar Port Free Zone has been successfully completed and the second phase of the project is in an intense construction phase. While the first phase of the Gwadar Free Zone covers only 60 acres, the second phase of the project is even larger, covering more than 2,200 acres. Infrastructure projects such as the Gwadar port airport, a highway linking the port to the coastal city and a hospital are also well underway. Bajwa said, “More importantly, the construction of Gwadar port also has radiating benefits for the development and prosperity of neighboring areas such as Baluchistan.”

2021 is a year of sustained economic recovery and normalisation in China after the epidemic. Data shows that China’s economy grew at 18.3 per cent in the first quarter and continued its steady recovery in the second quarter. In this regard, Bajwa said that China’s economic development experience and development model is an example for many countries in the world, and Pakistan is constantly learning from it. The speed with which China has resumed economic growth is amazing. He believed that with China’s economic development and more openness to the outside world, China will bring more development opportunities and development dividends to other countries and regions through the “Belt and Road” initiative, and Pakistan also hopes to receive more support and help from China.

By Sherry Song Dhu