THE China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a long-term initiative between time-tested, all-weather neighbours—China and Pakistan. Its aim is to act as a “Gateway of Prosperity” for both the countries and the region at large. The CPEC is focused on facilitating industrialization, trade and market access, integration with global value chains, socio-economic development and poverty alleviation, agriculture modernization, Gwadar City & blue economy, regional connectivity and third-party participation. Moreover, the ambit of cooperation has also been extended to include cooperation in Science and Information Technology in the overall CPEC framework.
The CPEC would connect Gwadar port in the southwest of Pakistan to China’s north-western region of Xinjiang via a network of highways and railways covering the entire country from North to South through different alignments: Eastern, Western and Central Alignments. Road infrastructure on the Eastern Alignment was already complete except the Sukkur-Hyderabad section. On the Western Alignment, Dera Ismail Khan-Zhob road has also been conceived. The remaining projects on the alignment have either been completed or under implementation and on varying stages of their completion. The central alignment was most likely to start in the third phase of the CPEC.
In the first phase of the implementation of CPEC, investment in infrastructure and energy sectors, through the implementation of early harvest projects, have filled the voids and accelerated the pace of economic growth of the country which will, quite hopefully and expectedly, ultimately provide a momentous boost to the economy of Pakistan.
In order to realize the vision of CPEC in letter and spirit, CPEC also emphasizes areas which contribute to the socio-economic uplift for the people of Pakistan in the urban as well as rural areas. Industrialization and Agriculture Modernization as such are the preferred areas to bring about employment, enhance trade and earn foreign exchange. Science and Technology cooperation has also been added as the new avenue of cooperation between the two countries under the CPEC framework with an emphasis on technology upgradation and transfer to support the development process under CPEC.
According to the information available from official sources on being contacted, most importantly, the CPEC projects in Pakistan are also significantly contributing to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through infrastructure development and energy sector projects, CPEC was supporting SDG 9 i.e., industry, innovation and infrastructure by enhancing connectivity, promoting industrialization and fostering sustainable infrastructure. It drives economic growth (SDG 8) by attracting investment, creating employment opportunities and reducing poverty (SDG 1). Additionally, CPEC also addresses energy needs (SDG 7) by investing in diverse energy sources and promoting trade (SDG 17) by strengthening regional cooperation. Furthermore, CPEC initiatives also aimed to build sustainable cities (SDG 11) and emphasized environmental sustainability (SDG 13) through cleaner technologies and adherence to environmental regulations.
The year 2023-24, which marked successful completion of the first decade of CPEC and now Pakistan is bracing for the next phase, witnessed numerous achievements on several fronts. In the Infrastructure sector, the Pak-China Friendship Hospital, 1.2 MGD Sea Water Desalination Plant in Gwadar, operational dredging of the Gwadar Port channels and joint feasibility study of Karakoram Highway (KKH) Phase-11 (Thakot-Raikot) were completed while the New Gwadar International Airport was currently in progress and nearing its completion with the passage of every day .
In the Energy sector, 884 MW Suki Kinari Hydro Power Project was also near completion. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) like Rashakai, Allama Iqbal, Bostan and Dhabeji were receiving priority, with progress made in the development and allocation of plots for establishing the industrial units.
An Action Plan for Agriculture Mechanization and Modernization had also been formulated and several protocols signed to facilitate agriculture export of Boiled meat and also Cherry and Chilli to China.
Furthermore, quite a significant stride had been made in the implementation of socio-economic development projects, with projects completed, under implementation and in the pipeline.
Lastly, as many as 57 projects in different sectors for the third batch had also been shared with the Chinese side for consideration and these were under review for finalization.
Meetings of the Joint Working Group covering Transport, Infrastructure, Industrial Cooperation, Science Information Technologies, Security, Gwadar and International Coordination were also held during the last financial year 2023-24.
Lot of more information about CPEC as the year 2024-25 was planned to be the year of industrial cooperation, agriculture modernization, socio-economic development and scientific collaboration was being held up for want of adequate space and will be submitted soon.
