With the establishment of a new government in Pakistan under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the momentum of international investment in Pakistan has picked up, enhancing the confidence of the global business community and the local business environment as well.
The credit for all this buzz of global investment coming to Pakistan is directly linked with the smooth and qualitative sustainable development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in its initial 10 years.
The achievements of CPEC are entering into its 2nd phase of development as Pakistan prepares the agenda of the 13th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) and expects Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to visit China.
With the continuous development process of CPEC, now the projects of Energy, Infrastructure, Communication, Board of Investment, Science and Technology, Information Technology and Ministry of Water Resources are on a top priority that are much needed for the next phase of its construction. These projects are in connection with the previous achievements that have been recognized by China, Pakistan and the international community following the dedication and commitment of both sides during the process of development.
If we take a look at the development process of the first phase of CPEC, which is the flagship project of Belt and Road Initiative, it will be realized that CPEC has transformed the various sectors of Pakistan including the power sector.
On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the development process of CPEC, the mega benefits of the projects are clearly making the headlines across national and global media outlets that have been declaring this bilateral initiative as the historic development venture for Pakistan initiated under the signature project of Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Launched in 2013, CPEC, a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is a corridor linking Pakistan’s southwestern Gwadar port with Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, highlighting energy, transport and industrial cooperation.
CPEC was announced during the visit of the then Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Pakistan and it received a huge vibrancy during the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan in 2015. Since its launch, the project has drawn tremendous outcomes in various sectors of Pakistan.
In the development process, it has been witnessed that CPEC has been modernizing local infrastructure for long-term growth by upgrading development narratives in the country with the support of Chinese investment and aid. CPEC has also been reducing the regional economic development gaps with a view to connect major economic regions and enhancing the trade relations with China to promote exports and developing more government to government and business to business relations.
Till now, CPEC as a pilot project of the BRI, has brought a total of 29 billion US dollars in direct investment, 2,00,000 job opportunities, 510 kilometers of expressways, 8,000 megawatts of electricity, 886 kilometers of core transmission grids,fiber optical cable of 820 KM, construction of Gwadar port and Gwadar international airport and vocational training centers injecting strong momentum into Pakistan’s economic and social development, becoming a vivid symbol of China-Pakistan all-weather friendship.
Now, following the successful legacy of CPEC that is well recognized across the globe, the next phase of development is very important as it is widely accepted that this mega development project would deliver two million jobs and prosperity to hundreds of millions of people in both countries and in the extended region.
In a latest book authored by ambassador ® Syed Hasan Javed it has been mentioned that the CPEC was conceived over the past nearly two decades, as a lynch pin of long-term plans by both China and Pakistan, to deepen their economic cooperation to match their level of all weather strategic partnership that was China’s first with any country.
It also fits neatly into Pakistan’s National Trade Corridor (NTC) plans for North-South connectivity. Not only China but Russia, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran, Europe and Africa will find the CPEC as an economic bonanza opening up new growth points for wealth generation in a global economy so with the passage of time, there is a growing interest of the global community in the CPEC.
The first successful decade of CPEC development is emerging as a game changer for Pakistan’s economy and compliment perfect with China’s strategy of developing its inland and western regions.
It envisages deepening policy coordination amongst countries and regions, extending and improving infrastructure connectivity in all its forms – road, air, sea, rail, telecommunications, energy etc – across the regions, fostering trade and investment flows and last but not the least, enhancing people-to-people connectivity.
Gwadar and Karachi will be serving as its southern nodes of Belt and Road Initiative with an outlet to the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf. The regional and sub–regional economic integration will help bolster growth, investment and trade in countries that had a long complex history.
At this point of time, it can be easily predicted that CPEC will be a biggest surprise not only to the region but for the world as well as the initiative will also be helping Pakistan to join the ranks of top ten economies of the world.
