AGL 37.89 Decreased By ▼ -0.26 (-0.68%)
AIRLINK 124.10 Increased By ▲ 2.59 (2.13%)
BOP 5.67 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-3.08%)
CNERGY 3.75 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
DCL 8.55 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (1.79%)
DFML 40.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.41 (-1%)
DGKC 87.10 Increased By ▲ 2.50 (2.96%)
FCCL 33.98 Increased By ▲ 1.28 (3.91%)
FFBL 66.01 Increased By ▲ 0.51 (0.78%)
FFL 10.20 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (1.49%)
HUBC 104.45 Increased By ▲ 0.65 (0.63%)
HUMNL 13.45 Increased By ▲ 0.20 (1.51%)
KEL 4.78 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (7.9%)
KOSM 6.84 Decreased By ▼ -0.25 (-3.53%)
MLCF 38.84 Increased By ▲ 1.34 (3.57%)
NBP 60.35 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (0.17%)
OGDC 179.65 Increased By ▲ 7.40 (4.3%)
PAEL 24.97 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (0.69%)
PIBTL 5.71 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.18%)
PPL 153.00 Increased By ▲ 11.31 (7.98%)
PRL 22.79 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (0.31%)
PTC 14.91 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (1.15%)
SEARL 66.85 Increased By ▲ 2.29 (3.55%)
TELE 7.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-1.82%)
TOMCL 35.70 Increased By ▲ 0.20 (0.56%)
TPLP 7.32 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.41%)
TREET 13.99 Decreased By ▼ -0.21 (-1.48%)
TRG 50.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.80 (-1.55%)
UNITY 26.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.20 (-0.75%)
WTL 1.23 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.82%)
BR100 9,717 Increased By 233.5 (2.46%)
BR30 29,237 Increased By 866.2 (3.05%)
KSE100 90,860 Increased By 1893.1 (2.13%)
KSE30 28,458 Increased By 630.4 (2.27%)

EDITORIAL: CPEC’s (China Pakistan Economic Corridor’s) 10-year journey has no doubt been one of game-changing infrastructure development opportunities for Pakistan, especially in regions down in the south that seemed doomed, for so many reasons, to be stuck somewhere in the last century as the rest of the country limped on.

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of BRI (Belt and Road Initiative), of which CPEC is the flagship project, designed to connect the Gwadar port on Pakistan’s southwestern edge with Kashgar in China’s northwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; erecting energy, transport and energy infrastructure on both sides of the corridor.

This rush to recreate the fabled Silk Route to trigger development and commerce in the modern era is a godsend for Pakistan. It has already laid the foundation of infrastructure up-gradation and development, energy projects and industrial zones, modernisation of agriculture and development of Gwadar port, along with many other significant achievements.

Most notably, government figures show that the project has already created approximately 200,000 direct jobs in Pakistan, with ILO (International Labour Organisation) expecting that number to double in the coming years. This alone has deep implications.

It’s not only providing fresh employment opportunities for local youth, especially in Balochistan, but also encouraging the younger generation to pursue subjects – from engineering to economics – that will be in demand as CPEC matures further. This will create a vocationally trained workforce, especially in areas with very low literacy levels, and also bring other, wider benefits of a better educated society.

However, it’s also quite natural for mega projects to face their share of pitfalls and roadblocks; and indeed this one has been no different.

CPEC has occasionally suffered from irresponsible and uninformed remarks by government departments, which hurt the confidence the Chinese placed in Pakistan, and prompted senior officials to scramble to control the damage. Pakistan’s economic crisis has also often threatened to derail CPEC.

The historic collapse of the rupee and the unprecedented strain on forex reserves have led to missed payments, causing a lot of embarrassment to Pakistan and forcing revisions of numerous contracts.

Most of all, though, CPEC has suffered on account of security problems. Pakistan’s enemies have long leveraged proxy militias that litter the border areas with Afghanistan to disrupt the county’s economic progress. And by targeting Chinese workers time and again, they were able to freeze a number of projects within CPEC, to the point that the Chinese threatened to withdraw from some of them altogether.

Fortunately, though, the government has been able to work around most of these problems; and the Chinese have so far been very understanding. It was also in the CPEC years that China emerged as the largest foreign investor in Pakistan.

And at a time when the western bloc, headed by the US, is using institutions like the IMF (International Monetary Fund) to put the squeeze on Pakistan, it is extremely important to protect and nurture the game-changing partnership with Beijing; especially, since the Chinese are willing to invest in Pakistan when other foreign, and even local, investors are shying away.

These are also times when the international order is undergoing a profound metamorphosis. China has grown big enough to threaten America’s global financial dominance, and their inevitable confrontation has already begun.

This puts Pakistan in a very difficult position. It has had a long-term transactional relationship with Washington, which has been strained for the last few years. But it is also the most crucial part of the biggest, most expensive and most diverse international initiative that Beijing has ever rolled out.

Therefore, Islamabad will have to chart its way through diplomatic and financial challenges, which are bound to prop up as a result of this great international rivalry, very carefully and intelligently.

And no time better than the 10th anniversary of CPEC to realise that right now, when the country is fighting with a very real threat of sovereign default itself, the best bet is to prioritise Chinese investment – especially taking the corridor to its logical conclusion – above all the birds in the bush.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023

Comments

Comments are closed.

Ash Chak Jun 29, 2023 05:14am
This is a great satirical piece.
thumb_up Recommended (0)
Azeem Hakro Jun 29, 2023 07:58am
Sir, congratulations to China and Pakistan on the successful completion of 10 years of the CPEC. the potential benefits of CPEC include the Gwadar port, which positions Pakistan as a major player in global maritime trade, facilitating trade between China, the Middle East, and Africa. Additionally, the construction of new roads and railways will improve intra-country connectivity, making transportation of goods and people more efficient and stimulating economic activity. Moreover, the development of new power plants will address Pakistan's growing energy needs, reducing reliance on imported energy, saving costs, and improving energy security. CPEC will foster better regional connectivity by linking Pakistan with neighboring countries such as China, India, and Central Asia. This will enhance regional trade and connectivity.
thumb_up Recommended (0)
Tulukan Mairandi Jun 29, 2023 09:48am
CPEC is an epic failure. It delivered nothing as promised, sunk Pakistan into bankruptcy and pawned away our sovereignty and factories/manufacturing jobs to iron brother china
thumb_up Recommended (0)
Az_Iz Jun 29, 2023 06:12pm
Pakistan has had chronic power shortages. Thanks to CPEC, it is no longer the case.
thumb_up Recommended (0)
Az_Iz Jun 29, 2023 06:17pm
When no one was interested in investing in Pakistan, China did. And CPEC has already started delivering results in the power sector, ending chronic shortages. The airport in Gwadar can be next, to get going. It can be a cargo hub, to begin with, between China, Africa, Middle East, SE Asia, Australia and Europe.
thumb_up Recommended (0)
Awami Jun 30, 2023 09:08am
Shipper do not want to use Gwdar port. Expected Arrivals Departures In Port Expected ships in Gwadar ETA by AIS Vessel Dist./Time to go Last port Built GT DWT Size (m) Currently there are no expected ships
thumb_up Recommended (0)
M.S Jun 30, 2023 12:41pm
Great, govt shout focus on corrupt patwaris in Gwadar. These patwari caused losses to investors.
thumb_up Recommended (0)
Awami Jun 30, 2023 09:02pm
@M.S, There is practically no ship traffic. Please note most pictures of Gwadar , can see nice crane standing . But note never docked ships. Kindly look everyday for next 30 days how many ships arrived and departed. You will be shocked and think why it was built ( please use vessel finder.com )? It was not an economical decision. May be was built as naval base ? Nobody knows real answer.
thumb_up Recommended (0)
Awami Jun 30, 2023 09:07pm
@Az_Iz, Gwadar International Airport will be extremely unused by airplanes as Gwadar port is not used much by shipping vessels.
thumb_up Recommended (0)
Shahbaz Ali Jul 01, 2023 03:30pm
CPEC has done a lot for Pakistan. A lot of motorways have been built in South and North. Nuclear, coal, gas and hydel power plants have added about 15,000 MW to national grid reducing load shedding despite increasing demand. China is also rolling over all the loans to each current forex pressure. Pakistanis just need to avoid following warring politicians and start working like Chinese do.
thumb_up Recommended (0)