Pakistan corridor key to 'One Belt, One Road'
Experts said success in developing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will serve as an important model for the development of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative at a seminar in Haikou, capital of South China's Hainan Province.
The success of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will boost confidence of countries and regions along the route, Pakistani Senator and President of Pakistan-China Institute Mushahid Sayed said during a seminar on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Wednesday.
"Pakistan has traditionally been a long-standing all-weather friend to China, and Pakistan is both a part of the Central Asian economic belt through the economic corridor and a part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road through the port of Gwadar," Senator Sayed told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"Building ports, pipelines, roads, rail links, infrastructure and IT through the corridor will enhance connectivity between China, Pakistan and South and Central Asia, and the corridor would be a game changer and a win-win development for both countries," Sayed said.
Sayed also revealed that the Karot Hydropower Project, located in Northern Pakistan with an installed capacity of 720 megawatt, will be the first project to receive support from China's $40 billion Silk Road Fund.
The project, with its main sponsor being an investment arm of China Three Gorges Corporation, is expected to alleviate the energy shortage of Pakistan, experts said. The "One Belt, One Road" initiative, which refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, were launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013, under which China aims to support partner countries along the routes in infrastructure construction.
To finance the initiative, China announced in November 2014 it would set aside $40 billion to establish a Silk Road Fund. The fund started operation on December 29, 2014.
The framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt will be a number of economic corridors, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, along key transportation arteries, supported by key cities, trade zones and industrial parks, Fan Hengshan, deputy secretary-general with the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the seminar.
The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road will be supported by key ports along the route to ensure smooth, and safe passage of transport and trade, Fan said.
Deals concerning the corridor are currently mainly focused on energy and infrastructure projects such as ports and roads. But Brad Cable, a senior managing director at management consultancy Accenture, urged planners not to lose sight of digital infrastructure.
"In the modern world the digital infrastructure will be as important as physical infrastructure. And it is much easier to export and import digital infrastructure and share it than physical infrastructure," Cable told the Global Times Wednesday.
China-operated Gwadar Port to be fully operational this year
Staff Reporter | 2015-04-15 | 15:18 (GMT+8)
Pakistan's Gwadar Port which China has signed a contract with in order to gain the right to operate it for 40 years is set to open this month, with hopes that it will transform the local economy and political landscape, reports Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po.
The chief of the port's administration said the construction has almost been completed and the port will be fully operational by the end of this year. it will become the starting point of a new pipeline connecting Xinjiang and the Middle East, which is significantly shorter than the current shortest sea route for Asian markets and oil suppliers from Persian Gulf which currently uses the Strait of Malacca. It also looks to boost the local economy of Balochistan, a poor province in western Pakistan, as well as the rest of the country.
The port will also serve as the nearest estuary to nearby countries such as Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and as a freighting hub linking Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Oman, the UAE, Iran, Iraq and Xinjiang.
Beijing has planned to invest up to US$1.62 billion on the port and nine surrounding infrastructure projects such as a freeway connecting the port and nearby coastline, the port's groynes, berth maintenance dredging, a free trade zone and a new international airport. The nine projects are expected to be completed in three to five years.
The port has already led to plans for further developments such as a 1,200m-long pier for cargo containers and another 300m-long one with four berths, which can be extended up to 10km. Additional groynes and waterways as well as a dock without concession are also planned.
Pakistan transferred a concession agreement over the port between Islamabad and PSA International including the right to operate the port for 40 years to China in 2013 after reaching an agreement with Beijing. PSA International was the port's operator between 2007 and 2012 but it terminated its agreement on the ground that Pakistani government failed to build a motorway to the port and transfer land for the port's expansion, according to the Financial Times. The port is owned by Pakistani government and operated by state-owned China Overseas Port Holding Company.