I would like to warmly congratulate the Government and the people of China on the occasion of their 66th anniversary. Pakistan and China are linked by common mountains. The friendship between our people has a time honoured history and our two countries regards each other as a good neighbour, good friend, good partner and good brother and have developed an exemplary state-to-state relationship.
Pakistan's time-tested and all-weather relationship with China has been transformed into a strong strategic partnership, with focus on trade, investment, energy infrastructure and connectivity. A monumental achievement is the initiation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is considered to be a "game-changer" in terms of trade, investment, connectivity and regional economic integration. Sino-Pak ties have been transformed into a strong strategic partnership.
The Pak-China Economic Corridor is an ongoing development megaproject which aims to connect GAWADAR PORT in southwestern Pakistan to China's north-western autonomous region of Xinjiang, via a network of highways, railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas. THE ECONOMIC CORRIDOR is considered centre of China-Pakistan relations and will run about 3,000 km from Gawadar to Kashgar. Overall construction costs are estimated at over $46 billion, with the entire project expected to be completed in several years. The Corridor is an extension of China's proposed 21st century Silk Road initiative. According to a First post report, this is the biggest overseas investment by China announced yet and the corridor is expected to be operational within three years and will be a strategic game changer in the region, which would go a long way in making Pakistan a richer and stronger entity than ever before.
According to CPEC, Pakistan and China have signed agreements for constructing an international airport at Gawadar, upgrading a section of the 1300km Karakorum Highway connecting to Islamabad and laying fibre-optic cable from the Chinese border to the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi.
Chinese government announced that it will finance Chinese companies to build $45.6 billion worth of energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan as part of CPEC. China has promised to invest around $33.8 billion in various energy projects and $11.8 billion in infrastructure projects which will be completed by 2017 at most. The deal includes $622 million for Gawadar port, $15.5 billion worth of coal, wind, solar and hydro energy projects which will add 10400 megawatts of energy to the national grid of Pakistan. An additional 6120 megawatts will be added to the national grid at a cost of $18.2 billion by 2021. In total we will add 16000MW of electricity through coal, wind, solar and hydel plants in the next seven years.
The CPEC deal also includes $5.9 billion for road projects and $3.7 billion for railway projects, all to be developed by 2017. A $44 million optical fibre cable between China and Pakistan is due to be built.
Other than transport infrastructure, the economic corridor will provide Pakistan with telecommunications and energy infrastructure. The project also aims to improve intelligence sharing between the countries. China and Pakistan hope the massive investment plan will transform Pakistan into a regional economic hub as well as further boost the growing ties between Pakistan and China. The Pakistani media and government called the investments a "game and fate changer" for the region. According to The Guardian, "The Chinese are not just offering to build much-needed infrastructure but also make Pakistan a key partner in its grand economic and strategic ambitions.
The project will also open trade routes for Western China and provide China direct access to the resource-rich Middle East region via the Arabian Sea, bypassing longer logistical routes currently through the Strait of Malacca."
According to experts, the completion of Gawadar would make it the economic hub of Balochistan and create a strategic nexus between Pakistan, China and Central Asia, generating billions in revenue and providing shorter land routes. It would provide links from the Caspian Sea to the Strait of Hormuz, and enable Gwadar to compete with Persian Gulf ports. The United States, wary of Chinese strategic access to the Arabian Sea and its presence in the region, has reportedly tried several times to persuade Pakistan against involving China in the development.
India, which maintains tense relations with Pakistan, has viewed the project with objections, particularly as it crosses through the Pakistani-administered side of Kashmir, a region contested between the two countries. According to the Indian foreign affairs ministry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to China raised his objections over the corridor. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping dimissed the concerns, describing Pak-China Economic Corridor as a "commercial project. India may also have apprehensions over China's access to the sea, and has invested significantly in the nearby Port of CHABAHAR in neighbouring Iran. The development of CHABAHAR, which lies 170 km to the west of Gawadar, is part of India's efforts for access to landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asia while bypassing rival Pakistan. CPEC is a golden opportunity for Pakistani nation to change its future forever.
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