PRIME Minister Imran Khan emphasized on Friday that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project would be completed in any circumstances as the project was a guarantee for the bright future of Pakistan. In line with his vision to provide relief to poor people by reopening the construction industry, Imran, while reviewing the progress of projects under CPEC, remarked that “CPEC is an excellent project in terms of socio-economic development of Pakistan.”
This is a welcome assurance in the backdrop of propaganda campaign unleashed by some vested foreign interests to either force Pakistan to abandon the project midway or delay execution of projects being implemented, which have direct relevance to socio-economic development of the country. There is, however, national consensus in the country that the historic initiative aimed at accelerating the pace of economic development should continue at all costs. What the Prime Minister has said is reflective of national aspirations and hopefully progress on the project would continue unhindered. Pakistan has to lose nothing from CPEC as all projects under its umbrella have potential to contribute significantly to the progress and development of the country. Already, a number of power projects that were completed under early harvesting programme have helped resolve the chronic problem of load-shedding that was affecting all aspects of national life. Similarly, highways, motorways, airports and projects related to Gwadar port will also expedite Pakistan’s march on the road to prosperity. Establishment of economic zones and projects being contemplated for the second stage including cooperation in agriculture would help tap the country’s true potential for development and open up new opportunities for employment. In fact, there should be no second thinking when it comes to implementation of CPEC as all the projects have economic value and are being funded by China. All these projects would also help improve capacity and capability of the country to pay back foreign loans, which is being touted as a major concern by vested interests. It is satisfying that the CPEC Authority, under the dynamic leadership of Lt Gen Asim Bajwa (R), is working hard to remove bottlenecks and improve the pace of implementation. There are reports that work on a number of projects, work on which remained almost suspended during the last two years, has resumed and this is important as further delay would have increased their cost.
