China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority

[ghazi52]

China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa said that CPEC Authority would undertake more projects in Faisalabad after successful launch of Special Economic Zone, Allama Iqbal Industrial City.

 

[ghazi52]

No power on earth can sabotage CPEC

• Bajwa said only one section Sukkur-Hyderabad was left that had already been launched by the Prime Minister Imran Khan recently.

APP
04 May 2021


KARACHI: CPEC Authority Chairman Lt General (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa Tuesday said no power on earth could sabotage China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as it was the country’s national project.

Addressing a ceremony at Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) here, he said CPEC, being a flagship project of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, had improved the road connectivity between the two countries and would do so further.

On eastern alignment of CPEC, Bajwa said only one section Sukkur-Hyderabad was left that had already been launched by the Prime Minister Imran Khan recently.

He said the request for proposals of this project would be completed under public private partnership mode and floated within a month and after that the ground work would be started.

“Now our full focus is on western alignment,” he said adding motorway from Islamabad to Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan) was at final stage while the DI Khan to Zhob motorway project had also been approved by the Chinese side.

Similarly he said the ground work on road from Zhob to Quetta had also been started whereas Quetta to Khuzdar, Khuzdar to Awaran and Hoshab, and Khuzdar-Basima roads were also under construction and all of them would be connected with different areas of Balochistan and Sindh with Gwadar. Within next three years, all these routs would be connected, he added.

Bajwa said the western alignment passed through remoter areas where there was extreme poverty. The road projects under CPEC would improve connectivity and create new job opportunities for the people lining along the roads, he said adding this would ultimately bring prosperity in the area.

The CPEC Authority chairman said, “We are now moving beyond energy and road infrastructure to agriculture, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), tourism, science technology and information technology”. He said the poverty alleviation could be ensured through the above mentioned measures being executed under CPEC Phase-II.

In agriculture sector, he said, “We are moving towards corporate farming and community farming for which we are working with the provinces.”

Similarly in industrialization sector Rashakai and Faisalabad, the work was in full swing and number of industries were being installed.

In Rashakai SEZ, he said 1,000 acre of land had been allocated but some 2,000 applications had so far been received for which 3,600 acres of land was required.

Bajwa said a Canadian and German joint venture had applied for Allama Iqbal SEZ Faisalabad. Similarly a group of Pakistani American doctors was also interested in electro medical equipment manufacturing, he said adding likewise lot of people were interested in Dhabeji zone in Sindh which was more suitable for many investors because of easy approach to Karachi port.

With respect to the industrial development under CPEC, Bajwa said keeping in view the rising interest of foreign investors in the Gwadar Free Zone, the government had decide to launch second phase of the zone spanning over an area of 2,200 acres.

The foreign investors, he said were already showing interest in the second phase that would help bringing huge foreign direct investment in the country.

He said the first phase of the Gwadar Free Zone was launched two years ago on 60 acres of land which was now “fully colonized and well-populated”.

He said six out of 12 factories had been completed while the rest were under construction. Out of the completed industries, one had also started its production, he added.

He said overall work on Gwadar port and other projects in the city, was in full swing. “Four port buses have been completed, customs have been deployed and the handling capacity of the port is also being increased gradually,” he added.

Bajwa said Prime Minister Imran Khan had specifically formed a separate focus group aimed at increasing traffic of the sea port. The group was led by the maritime ministry while the commerce ministry was also its part, he maintained.

 

[ghazi52]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1396470499287478282

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

CPEC is now synonemous to the Pak Exceptionalism......

The more of CPEC the more of freedom and liberty for Pak......

*The two-thirds of the Muslims in the sub-continent have willingly and happily submitted themselves under the feet of the Hindus. The Paks in general are an exception to an extent so far

 

[ghazi52]

CPEC is now synonemous to the Pak Exceptionalism......

The more of CPEC the more of freedom and liberty for Pak......

*The two-thirds of the Muslims in the sub-continent have willingly and happily submitted themselves under the feet of the Hindus. The Paks in general are an exception to an extent so far

Right.

 

[ghazi52]

Pakistan Gets $25 Billion Investment Under CPEC

Pakistan has received $13 billion in the form of infrastructural investments and will collect another $12 billion under the #China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as revealed by the Chairman of the CPEC Authority, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Asim Saleem Bajwa, while discussing the new development with reporters at the Challenge Textile Factory on the Lahore-Multan Road.

He also mentioned that the visa period of the Chinese investors will be increased to 24 months, subject to an official announcement from Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Upon observing the progress at the Challenge Textile Factory, the Chairman stated,

My purpose of coming here was just to provide all the infrastructure for Chinese investment and to address the lack of facilities.

While lauding China for its contributions under the CPEC initiatives, he remarked that Pakistan’s economy will have an evolutionary change with all the investments coming in.

Bajwa later mentioned Gwadar as the epitome of successful investments under the CPEC vision and added that the required infrastructure to set up state-of-the-art facilities has been incorporated into the city’s logistical mainframe which has removed the previous delivery problems that the country’s supply chain had been facing
.

 

[ghazi52]

Asim Saleem Bajwa visit to Challenge Fashion Lahore.

A huge export oriented textile factory put up by a Chinese investor providing 5000 jobs&is all set to expand, promising to create 20,000. jobs.This is the model for new #SEZs,Will boost our industrial output &exports

.

 

[ghazi52]

Govt taking all possible measures to speed up industrialization under CPEC: Bajwa

https://nation.com.pk/NewsSource/web-desk
Web Desk
June 10, 2021


Chairman China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority, Lieutenant General (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa on Thursday said all-out efforts are being made to speed up industrialization under CPEC, a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Promotion of industry is a key target for CPEC which is imperative for the economic development, revenue enhancement and job creation, he said.

Asim Saleem Bajwa said private investors would be encouraged for joint ventures; however, the maximum focus would be on the industries that could support import substitution or boost exports.

He was talking to a delegation of leading industrialists of Islamabad led by President ICCI Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan which called on him here. President Islamabad Industrial Association (IIA) Tariq Sadiq, Senior Vice President IIA Omais Khattak, Khalid Javed, Sheikh Amir Waheed, Chief Coordinator IAA

Malik Sohail Hussain were also present at the occasion.

Chairman CPEC said that the demand of the industrial community of Islamabad will be considered and a new industrial estate will be established for them after studying their proposal in detail.

Earlier Kh Khalid Javed, a noted industrialist, apprised Asim Saleem Bajwa of the problems confronted by their community. He said that there are no plots left in the Islamabad industrial area which is hampering expansion and new investments.

Therefore, he said, a new industrial estate should be established on CPEC route at Hakla D.I Khan Motorway so that new industrial units could be established there as land is already available there.

Tariq Sadiq said that we have identified a site at Hakla D.I Khan Motorway while CDA and RDA are also in the process of studying the proposals.

Asim Saleem Bajwa informed that CPEC Authority is already studying proposal regarding establishing Special Economic Zone in Islamabad and if found feasible, an industrial zone would be established to fulfill the demand of industrialists of Islamabad.

He informed that the government has allocated Rs87 billion in the upcoming budget for execution of CPEC projects and we are expecting increased Chinese investments.


Bajwa said China was also cooperating with Pakistan in the agriculture sector and supporting in cottonseed development while many Chinese investors are keen to invest in modern corporate farming.

 

[ghazi52]

Lt-Gen (retd) Asim S Bajwa, Chairman of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority, on Thursday said all-out efforts were being made to speed up industrialization under CPEC, a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative.

 

[ghazi52]

Prime Minister Imran Khan during a meeting said that CPEC has been put on the fast track and the government will ensure the speedy completion of the project. He said that the special economic zones under CPEC will make Pakistan an export-oriented country.

 

[ghazi52]

ISLAMABAD:
The Pak-China Relations Steering Committee, in its maiden meeting, decided to expand its membership by bringing provinces in its fold and clarified its role in forwarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the presence of two other cabinet and statutory bodies.

The steering committee, which has been mandated to look after all aspects of China-Pakistan relations, met for the first time on Friday under the chairmanship of Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar.

Main focus of the discussions was to define roles of the Cabinet Committee on CPEC, CPEC Authority and Pak-China Relations Steering Committee.

In the meeting, the committee decided to recommend Prime Minister Imran Khan to make chief secretaries of provinces, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan members of the committee, said Umar.

“The purpose of the first meeting was to define and explain the role of the steering committee in the presence of Cabinet Committee on CPEC and CPEC Authority,” he said while talking to The Express Tribune.

In the Express News programme, The Review that went on air last week, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said that the steering committee would undermine the role of the CPEC Authority.

Some of the participants sought clarification about the role of the new steering committee, another participant of the meeting said.

The minister said that the CPEC Authority would oversee CPEC, but the steering committee, being an interagency body, would sort out issues that may undermine the progress on CPEC.

The Cabinet Committee on CPEC would provide policy guidelines, said Umar.

Sources said that Umar during the meeting clarified that the Pak-China Relations Steering Committee had not been set up to overshadow the CPEC Authority.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said that the ministry did not have objections to progressing relations with China through the steering committee.

The CPEC Authority chairman reiterated his support for the steering committee.

Sources said that Umar maintained that the steering committee’s objectives were not only CPEC specific, rather it would work to strengthen relations in all spheres.

Read: CPEC bears fruit amid 70th anniversary of Pak-China ties

An official statement, issued by the planning ministry, stated that in the first meeting the Pak-China Relations Steering Committee “discussed the committee’s scope and rationale”.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had recently constituted the Pak-China Relations Steering Committee to give a further impetus to implementation of projects and initiatives involving Pak-China collaboration, it added.

The establishment of the high-level forum reflects the special status of Pak-China relationship in the PM’s vision, said the planning ministry.

The meeting deliberated on the committee’s modus operandi and terms of reference (TORs) in detail, and it also solicited suggestions on how to make the committee more effective and efficient in order to further deepen Pakistan-China relations, it added.

The 15-member steering committee includes Planning Commission deputy chairman, planning secretary, foreign secretary, interior secretary, railways secretary, power secretary, finance secretary, national security adviser, CPEC Authority chairman and Gwadar Development Authority chairman.

Other members of the committee are director general of joint staff headquarters, chief of general staff/director general of military operations, chief of staff naval headquarters and director general intelligence/analysis of the ISI.

Pakistan and China had launched CPEC six years ago with an initial investment portfolio of about $46 billion, which was subsequently increased to $60 billion. However, the actual investment remained far below that mainly during the tenure of PML-N government.

The share of projects that are in the pipeline is $28 billion, according to the CPEC Authority presentation to the cabinet body in January this year.

So far, 17 projects worth $13 billion have been completed while another 21 projects having an estimated cost of $12 billion are being implemented.

The terms of reference of the committee include overseeing and steering the progress on Sino-Pak cooperation under multiple domains, reviewing progress on various projects and devising pursuance implementation and feedback systems to avoid delays.

The steering committee will also be responsible for creation of inter-ministerial synergy and removing hurdles and impediments in the way of coordination, finalisation and execution of projects.

The minister advised members of the committee that they ought to personally attend the committee meetings and should not send their subordinates to keep discussions fruitful.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2021.

 

[ghazi52]

ISLAMABAD: The 10th meeting of Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is scheduled to be held on July 16. Chairman, CPEC Authority Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa (retd) on Saturday while announcing the date of the much-awaited meeting, said the meeting would be held via video link.

He said the meeting would be co-chaired by Planning Minister Asad Umar and Vice Chairman National Development and Reforms Commission (NDRC) Ning Jizhe.

Normally the JCC meeting is held once a year. The 9th meeting was held in 2019 but the 10th meeting could not be scheduled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The JCC is the highest decision making forum on CPEC which reviews progress and decision making forum on the mega project, Asim Bajwa said, adding, the forum also reviews progress and decides on future projects.

 

[ghazi52]

Agri, livestock, fisheries sectors to be developed in GB under CPEC: Asim Bajwa

22 Jul 2021

ISLAMABAD, Jul 22 (APP): Chairman China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Lt. Gen. (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa on Thursday said the immense potential of agriculture, livestock and fisheries’ sectors in areas close to Khunjrab Pass, Gilgit Baltistan would be exploited under the umbrella of CPEC.

In a tweet, the Chairman said work was underway to address the challenges in the way of benefiting from the potential sectors.


“On Agriculture prospects with farmers of area close to Khunjrab Pass-Gilgit Baltistan. Agri, livestock and fishery has potential but challenges too, working to address them under CPEC,” he said while sharing his pics with the local farmers of the area.

During his visit to the area, he met with the local farmers and discussed with them about the crops and yields.

 

[ghazi52]

More than 50 PC work on Suki Kinari Hydropower project complete,


July 31, 2021
app.com.pk







In a press release, the Chairman CPEC Authority, Asim Saleem Bajwa has announced that 66 percent of construction and development work on Suki Kinari Hydropower project has been completed. The press release also added that the project has attracted USD 1.9 billion dollars’ worth of investment, and when completed, will add 884 MW of energy in the national grid. This project is being built on the run-of-the-river principle at River Kunhar in the Kaghan Valley.

ISLAMABAD, Jul 30 (APP):China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa on Friday said that work on Suki Kinari hydropower project was in full swing.

He said the Suki Kinari hydropower project will generate 884 MW of electricity, said a press release.

Asim said that $1.9 billion was being invested in the Suki Kanari hydropower project and 66 percent of work on the project had been completed.

 

[ghazi52]

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has time and again been targeted by some Western media and think-tanks as a "debt trap" for Pakistan, but the situation on the ground bears witness that it is enabling the country to break the shackles of the Western loans through wealth creation.

Pakistani experts and officials believe that the "debt trap" rhetoric is highly miscalculated and a futile attempt to play down the benefits the CPEC is bringing to Pakistan.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, the country's Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said the world's eyes are fixed on the CPEC, and some forces in the world do not want to see it succeed so they try to malign it through negative propaganda as being "non-transparent, having debts of high-interest rates and being a threat to Pakistan's debt sustainability."

Contrary to the false propaganda, the CPEC is very transparent, and it is being monitored by both houses of Pakistan's parliament, Umar said, adding that the details of the power plant projects under the CPEC are also accessible to everyone on the website of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority.

Negating a recent report by a U.S. research lab regarding the high interest rates of CPEC loans, Umar said that both the Pakistani government and the private sector borrowed loans for CPEC power projects, adding that the interest rate for state-owned projects' loan was an average of 2.4 percent while the interest rate for the private sector is not high either.

"China also provided grants to Pakistan including a recently completed vocational training institute in Gwadar, and the Gwadar airport, Gwadar hospital, etc., and interest-free loans for infrastructure network in Gwadar. If the grant and these loans are added, then the net effective rate of interest on CPEC infrastructure projects is about 1.98 percent," he added.

Umar said that even the Chinese loans to the private sector of Pakistan are cheaper compared to other international lenders including the Asian Development Bank.

Talking about the challenge of debt sustainability his country is facing, Umar said it is a big challenge on which the current government is working, but the challenge has nothing to do with Chinese loans.

"Chinese debt is about 10 percent of Pakistan's total loan, and 26 percent of the total external debts. So how can it (the U.S. research lab) say that this 26 percent is a threat to Pakistan's debt sustainability and not the other 74 percent which Pakistan owes to Western lenders?" he added.
In a conversation with Xinhua, Inam-ul-Haque, a political sociologist, said that the CPEC has the potential to remove the financial woes of Pakistan because it set the solid base of industrialization by fulfilling the country's demand for electricity, besides setting up an effective road infrastructure.

The CPEC has the potential to break the begging bowl of Pakistan by enabling it to create enough wealth for domestic use and debt servicing, he said, adding that Pakistan recently witnessed a historic surge in exports and its major credit goes to CPEC power plants for their uninterrupted power supply to the industry.

"What distinguishes CPEC loans from Western loans is that the CPEC and its projects focus on socio-economic development of underprivileged people and areas of Pakistan. For example, the CPEC's western route will not only create jobs for the people of the underdeveloped area but also give them access to big markets through which their economic condition will get better," he added.

Unlike Western loans with a high-interest rate and other conditions, Chinese loans are fairly concessional and devoid of any arm-twisting, aiming to uplift the Pakistani economy.
In a talk with Xinhua, Syed Hasan Javed, director of the Chinese Studies Center, School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the National University of Sciences and Technology, said that Pakistan was suffering up to 18 hours of power outage a day before China stepped forward to help address the country's energy woes.

"The offer to invest in Pakistan's energy sector was open for all, but at that time no one except China dared to support the country that was marred by terrorism, whose foreign investment had dried up, and whose economic activities were being crippled by energy shortages and infrastructure gaps."

He added that the West did not invest in Pakistan at that time and after a few years when Chinese power plants successfully addressed the electricity shortage of Pakistan, it started negative propaganda after missing the boat.

Khalid Mansoor, special assistant to the Pakistani Prime Minister on CPEC Affairs, told media on Wednesday at the press conference that, unlike Western propaganda, the CPEC is playing a big role in the country's economic development by setting the base for industrialization and creating jobs during the construction and operations phase of infrastructure and energy projects.

"Now in industrialization and agricultural phase, not only exports will be enhanced but the bulk of jobs will be created for Pakistanis," Mansoor said.