FIRM commitment demonstrated by the Chinese companies involved in projects under the umbrella of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and focus on completion of infrastructure projects in Algeria have turned the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of Chinese President Xi Jinping into a reality. The China Daily has reported that the largest Chinese builder — China State Construction Engineering Corp — has handed over Sukkur-Multan Motorway to Pakistan side and in Algeria, the Company handed over last week an expressway linking Chiffa and Berrouaghia, passing across the Atlas Mountains and through the Sahara Desert.
Leaving aside other projects under BRI/CPEC, these two motorway projects are not only going to contribute significantly to expedite the pace of socio-economic development in Pakistan and Nigeria but would also become part of the network envisaged to link regional countries. The Sukkur-Multan Motorway is the largest transportation infrastructure project under the CPEC while the expressway in Niger would extend further southward to connect Mali, Niger and other countries in Sahil Area. The 392-kilometer-long Sukkur-Multan motorway, also known as the M5, is part of the country’s Peshawar-Karachi Motorway and is designed for speeds of up to 120 km/hour with a total investment of about $2.89 billion. As against the propaganda by vested interests, the project created more than twenty-nine thousand jobs for locals during its peak and the Chinese constructor also built schools, roads, bridges, wells and water channels for the locals to make their lives easier. It is also noteworthy that the CPEC projects are making major progress despite slowdown of the economy in Pakistan and elsewhere in the world due to the situation arising out of Covid-19. This is also a reflection of the unwavering resolve of the Chinese leadership to take the entire project of CPEC to its fruition despite challenges of different sorts.
