CPEC shines at 10th anniversary
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the flagship project of Belt and Road Initiative, has promoted Pakistan’s sustainable development in a wide range of areas since its start back in 2013.
CPEC, under the BRI, has been playing a vital role in strengthening and modernizing infrastructure in Pakistan that has also pushed forward the economic development in the country.
Launched in 2013, CPEC is a corridor linking the Gwadar port in southwestern Pakistan with Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation.
Following the 10 years of its successful start, CPEC has achieved so many success stories that are being appreciated in Pakistan and China as it has worked as per the aspirations of people and government on both sides.
If we look back at the development process of CPEC, we will come to know that the credit not only goes to the government on both sides but the success credit of CPEC development also goes to the workers from Pakistan and China who have dedicated their lives for the progress of CPEC. There are multiple emotional stories of the workers performing their duties under CPEC who have worked hard to write the new stories of brotherhood and trust.
It was really a great experience for Pakistani workers as well as for Chinese workers to develop a working relationship and share their experiences of work. Such collaborations really helped both sides to understand each other and to develop deep understanding of different cultures. The success of CPEC in these 10 years will always be credited to these workers who have emerged as a symbol of friendship and progress.
So as far as the investment of CPEC projects is concerned, it is to be well noted that the project has attracted more than 29 billion USD on various projects. This investment helped various Pakistani sectors to re-develop and play their role in the economic growth of the country that cultivated huge benefits for the local people.
This investment of China was without any kind of terms and conditions and without any pressure. This unconditional and sincere investment helped Pakistan work smoothly on CPEC projects so the projects got completed timely in the first phase of CPEC.
The first phase of the CPEC ignited energy and passion among the people working on the projects and also excited Pakistani people. The reason is very clear as back in 2013, Pakistan was facing a severe energy crisis for the domestic users and industries.
This energy crisis created trouble for the people at domestic as well as at industrial level. Our industry was not performing well and many of the industries were shut down following the shortage of energy. Local people were also facing issues of energy shortage at their homes. At that time Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the visionary Belt and Road Initiative and Pakistan was the very lucky country that got CPEC.
This CPEC was a turning point for Pakistan as it started as a project that got the support of Pakistani society at large and every political party supported the initiative. The beauty of this project was that the project started with the mutual consultation of China and Pakistan.
Both countries had very comprehensive and candid discussions on CPEC projects. This process of developing consensus and mutual learning about CPEC laid a solid foundation for the development of the project. With mutual consultation and trust, the great development process started back in 2013 under the leadership of former Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.
The commitment of the Mian Nawaz Sharif-led government of PMLN showed the full commitment and passion towards the start and development process of CPEC. The first phase of CPEC focused on development of energy projects in the country and it really showed great progress. The development of energy projects with the Chinese investment was very quick and environment friendly. These projects really helped the country to tackle the energy shortages and to resume the industrial cycle that was halted following the energy shut down.
The resumption of old power plants and development of new power projects was really a blessing for domestic and industrial users. This really helped Pakistani industry to operate their businesses at normal pace and to fulfill their export orders. This process also helped Pakistan to increase its exports and earned the good economic growth and Pakistani export base started expanding.
Collaborations under the China-proposed BRI, encompassing investments, research and development (R&D), and technology transfer played a vital role in driving innovation and addressing related challenges.
It is to be highly noted that both sides pushed forward the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and explored new areas of cooperation in industry, agriculture, mining, science and technology and information technology, fostering new growth points, and deepening cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
