Beijing: In a move that would reduce its dependence on Western trade, China has proposed its most expensive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), worth $58 billion, that would connect its western part with Pakistan through a railway system.
The state-owned China Railway First Survey and Design Institute Group Co Ltd. analysts examined the $57.7 billion proposal and found that, despite its heavy price tag, the investment is worthwhile, according to the South China Morning Post.
According to the proposal’s assessment board, the 1,860-mile rail line, which will link the Chinese city of Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to the Pakistani port of Gwadar, has the potential to alter both trade and geopolitics.
Although the railway connecting China to Pakistan would be China’s largest transportation project to date, the Institute has also contributed to the Indonesian Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail line, which will be Asia’s first high-speed rail system and open in June.
The latest rail system to get the green light in China will connect the world’s top manufacturer with the Arabian Sea, opening it up to more direct trade routes.
According to the report, it is also anticipated to spur the development of new train networks that might link China with Turkey and Iran, greatly enhancing direct access to the two countries.
China’s Two Sessions, BRI and CPEC | By Muhammad ZamirAssadi
