China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

INTRODUCTIONCPEC is basically a framework of regional

connectivity. CPEC will not only benefit China and Pakistan but will have positive impact on

other South and Central Asian countries.

CPEC Projects in Gwadar China will grant Pakistan

$230 million to construct a new international airport in Gwadar which is to be operational by December 2017.

The city of Gwadar is further being developed by the construction of a 300MW coal power plant, a desalinisation plant, and a new 300 bed hospital.

East Bay Expressway – a 19 kilometre controlled-access road that will connect Gwadar Port to the Makran Coastal Highway.

CPEC Road Routes

CPEC will benefit all the provinces especially Balochistan, Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). According to data released by Planning Commission of

Pakistan, 335 km long Khunjerab to Raikot road is complete while the feasibility study

of 270 km Raikot to Thakot road is complete.

CPEC Rail routes The CPEC project emphasises major

upgrades to Pakistan's ageing railway system, including rebuilding of the entire Main Line 1 railway between Karachi and Peshawar by 2020. In addition to the Main Line 1 railway, upgrades and expansions are slated for the Main Line 2 railway and Main Line 3 railway. The CPEC plan also calls for completion of a rail link over the 4,693-meter high Khunjerab Pass. 

CPEC Energy ProjectsRenewable Energy Projects: China's Zonergy company completed

construction on the world's largest solar power plant – the 6,500 acre Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park near the city of Bahawalpur with the capacity of 1000MW was completed in December 2016. The $2.4 billion, 1,100 MW Kohala Hydropower Project being constructed by China's Three Gorges Corporation predates the announcement of CPEC, though funding for the project will now come from CPEC fund 2016.

Coal The Shanghai Electric company of China will

construct two 660MW power plants as part of the “Thar-I” project in the Thar coalfield of Sindh province. The facility will be powered by locally sourced coal, and is expected to be put into commercial use in 2018.

Near the Thar-I project, the China Machinery Engineering Corporation in conjunction with Pakistan’s Engro Corporation will construct two 330MW power plants (having initially proposed the simultaneous construction of two 660MW power plants) 

Liquified Natural Gas  Liquefied natural gas power LNG projects are also

considered vital to CPEC. The Chinese government has announced its intention to build a $2.5 billion 711 kilometre long liquid natural gas pipeline from Gwadar to Nawabshah in province as part of CPEC. The pipeline is designed to be a part of the 2,775 kilometre long Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline, with the 80 kilometre portion between Gwadar and the Iranian border to be connected when sanctions against Tehran are eased; Iran has already completed a 900 kilometre long portion of the pipeline on its side of the border.

The Pakistani portion of the pipeline is to be constructed by the state-owned China Petroleum Pipelines Bureau. It will be 42 inches in diameter, and have the capacity to transport 1 billion cubic feet of liquified natural gas every day, with an additional 500 million cubic feet of additional capacity when the planned off-shore LNG terminal is also completed The project will not only provide gas exporters with access to the Pakistani market, but will also allow China to secure a route for its own imports.

“Early Harvest” Energy Projects As part of the "Early Harvest" scheme of the

CPEC, over 10,000 megawatts of electricity-generating capacity is to be developed between 2018 and 2020. While some "Early Harvest" projects will not be complete until 2020, the government of Pakistan plans to add approximately 10,000 MW of energy-generating capacity to Pakistan's electric grid by 2018 through the completion of projects which complement CPEC.

Under the scope of CPEC, the 1,223 MW Balloki power plant, and the 1,180 MW Bhakki powerplants are also under construction, which along with the under-construction 969 MW Neelum–Jhelum Hydropower Plant and 1,410 MW Tarbela IV Extension Project will result in an additional 10,000 MW being added to Pakistan's electricity grid by 2018 by a combination of CPEC and non-CPEC projects. A further 1,000 MW of electricity will be imported to Pakistan from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan as part of the CASA-1000 project, which is expected to be completed in late 2018.

CPEC Agricultural Projects Under the plan, agricultural information project,

storage and distribution of agricultural equipment and construction project, agricultural mechanization, demonstration and machinery leasing project and fertilizer production project for producing 800,000 tons of fertilizer and 100,000 tons of bio-organic fertilizer will be implemented.

Science and Technology Projects As part of CPEC, the two

countries signed an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement, as well as pledged to "China-Pakistan Joint Cotton Bio-Tech Laboratory“ The two countries also pledged to establish the "China-Pakistan Joint Marine Research Center" with State Oceanic Administration and Pakistan's Ministry of Science and Technology Also as part of the CPEC agreement, Pakistan and China have agreed to co-operate in the field of space research.

How will CPEC boost Pak’s Economy It is estimated that if all the

planned projects are implemented, the value of those projects would exceed all

foreign direct investment in Pakistan since 1970 and would be equivalent to 17% of Pakistan's 2015 gross

domestic product. It is further estimated the CPEC project will create some 700,000 direct jobs during the

period 2015–2030 and add up to 2.5 percentage points to the country's growth rate.

ConclusionThe CPEC appears to be a very crucial project

for both the countries. For China it provides an alternate secure

route to import Energy and find new markets for its goods and services. For Pakistan it

helps counters Indian influence in the region, position itself as a major transit point

connecting Eurasian region with South Asia and South East Asia and provide a much

needed base to kick start its economic growth

Presented bySAAD AHMED

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