Pak-China Economic Corridor: Chinese team due in April to discuss development projects
Islamabad: A high-level Chinese delegation is scheduled to arrive here next month to discuss various development projects related to Pak-China Economic Corridor. Sources said on Monday that Chinese President Xi Jinping was also likely to visit Pakistan in September, 2014, for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) pertaining to various projects with regard to Pak-China Economic Corridor.
They said that China wanted to prepare a joint feasibility of common parameters for the development projects of Pak-China Economic Corridor. The federal government had set 30th June 2014 as deadline to concerned authorities for preparing a feasibility report for the construction of Lahore-Karachi Motorway, the sources added. They said that the Prime Minister had already approved the alignment of the Economic Corridor starting from Khunjerab Pass and ending at Gwadar and Lahore-Karachi Motorway.
The sources said that a new Motorway from Multan to Sukkur would be initiated in the first phase. Two projects, components of the Economic Corridor – Karakoram Highway and Multan-Sukkur portion – were approved in the second meeting of the Joint Co-operation Committee (JCC) of Pak-China Economic Corridor. China State Construction Engineering Corporation and Frontier Works Organisation of Pakistan would jointly work for the construction of these two projects. A new road link from Islamabad to Khunjerab would also be constructed under Pak-China Economic Corridor. A railway line from Rawalpindi to Khunjerab is also planned to be laid. The sources said that Pakistan would benefit in terms of security and revenue from Pak-China optic fibre project and for this project, $40 million had been provided by Chinese telecom firm Huawei.
The project would be completed within a span of two years, the sources said adding that successful implementation of the project would provide Pakistan with a direct telecom access to China and the Central Asian States. The project would also facilitate trade, tourism and IT in the region and generate economic opportunities particularly in Gilgit-Baltistan. The sources said that 22,000 MW extra would be generated due to Chinese investment in various energy projects. For this propose, Gadani Power Projects would be the first priority.
Source: Business Recorder
