PESHAWAR: The China-Pakistan Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Smart Disaster Prevention of Major Infrastructures Sub-Centre was officially inaugurated here at the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Peshawar.
The event was held with the opening of the 3rd International Conference on Climate Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Management (ICCRIDM-2025), commemorating the 20th anniversary of the devastating October 8, 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. The event was organized by UET’s Department of Civil Engineering.
The Joint Laboratory is a collaborative initiative between UET Peshawar and Southeast University, Nanjing, China. It was inaugurated by Prof Zhong-Fan Chen, Executive Deputy Director of the China-Pakistan Belt and Road Joint Laboratory, alongside Prof. Dr. Sadiq Khattak, Vice Chancellor of UET Peshawar.
Prof Zhong-Fan Chen emphasized the laboratory’s mission to pioneer research in disaster prevention and mitigation, focusing on challenges posed by natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, fires, and explosions.
He highlighted the lab’s goals of smart monitoring, prediction, and technology transfer to protect critical infrastructure and save lives, describing the collaboration as a significant advance in scientific innovation and infrastructure resilience.
The Vice Chancellor UET Peshawar Prof Dr Sadiq Khattak in his address highlighted the importance of establishing UET Peshawar as a sub-centre for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the joint lab framework.
He called it a strategic milestone in Pakistan-China partnership, aimed at accelerating joint research, talent development, bilateral standardization, and supporting the Belt and Road Initiative through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
He also mentioned the benefits for Pakistani scholars, including funding access and training opportunities in China.
Prof Dr Bashir Alam, Dean Faculty of Civil Engineering and Prof Dr Khan Shahzada, Chair of the conference, acknowledged the strong support from the Ministries of Science and Technology of Pakistan and China, as well as the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025