REGARDLESS of the breakout of Coronavirus, which has brought everything to a standstill across the world, it is really satisfying to note that both Pakistan and China have firm resolve to take forward the multibillion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, which in fact, has become a symbol of success in the world.
Talking to a delegation of senior journalists on Wednesday, Chairman of CPEC Authority, Lt Gen (R) Asim Saleem Bajwa, said the CPEC is future of Pakistan and no compromise will be made on it. Indeed the mega project has so far helped Pakistan to address its power shortage and improve the road infrastructure which will prove to be very important to make Pakistan a hub of regional economic and trade activities after the complete operationalization of Gwadar deep seaport. It is understandable that the breakout of Coronavirus has slowed down the progress on CPEC but we are sure that as the restrictions are being eased in the next few days, work on the Corridor will again pick up the momentum which in fact is important to steer the country out of these difficult economic times aggravated by the pandemic. There is also realization in government circles as to how important is the second phase of CPEC under which the special emphasis as pointed out by Bajwa will be given to agriculture, industries, trade, science and technology as well as development of Gwadar. Certainly, all these areas are very important for Pakistan’s economy and Chinese investment in them will help the country emerge as a strong economic power on the world’s map. The focus should be on simultaneous execution of these projects as it will generate immense economic activity in the country to come out of shocks of the contagion. The entire nation is thankful for the assistance provided by China to Pakistan to cope with the virus and now it is up to our authorities to enhance engagement level with the Chinese friends to kick start work on the second phase of CPEC. At the same time, we also need to be alert of the elements, both internal and external, which never miss any opportunity to kick dust on the CPEC. Their designs can be foiled by fast tracking work on the project.
