More details of 7th JCC meeting on CPEC trickle out

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More details of 7th JCC meeting on CPEC trickle out

The Newspaper's Staff ReporterUpdatedDecember 08, 2017
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KARACHI: In a series of tweets, Chinese diplomat Lijian Zhao has shared a full list of the various projects and agreements finalised and discussed during the 7th Joint Cooperation Council (JCC) meeting held in Islamabad between November 21 and 22.

The tweets appear to be on behalf of the National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) of China, which is the counterpart of the Planning Commission in Pakistan, jointly responsible for giving shape to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) over the long run.



A total of six documents were signed, including the Long Term Plan for CPEC which is to run from 2017 till 2030. In addition, minutes of the 7th JCC were also approved by both sides, as well as those from the meeting of the Joint Working Groups on Gwadar, Energy and Industrial Parks. Implementation minutes on New Gwadar International Airport were also finalised.

The subsequent JCC will work on commercial contract and financing arrangement for the Main Line 1 (ML1) project which envisions a high speed rail link between Karachi and Peshawar. This is the single largest project in CPEC. In addition to ML1, “3 new infrastructure projects will accelerate talks on signing commercial contracts and financing agreements” Zhao says.

Feasibility reports for nine Special Economic Zones (SEZs) “were handed over to Chinese side” he says, adding that three of them, “Rashakai, Dhabeji and M-3 in Faisalabad seemed most feasible.” The language is non-committal on whether any decision was made to begin construction on these yet, or whether further work is needed before work begins.

For Gwadar, the NDRC notes the beginning of the construction of East Bay Expressway, whose ground breaking was held after the JCC meeting, and “Gwadar power plant and Gwadar Expo will be inaugurated very soon. Major projects will be completed in Gwadar Free Zone by early 2018”.

Regarding the Diamer-Bhasha Dam, the NDRC is quoted by the diplomat as saying that “China and Pakistan discussing Bhasha dam project under CPEC energy expert group. However it has not been included in list of energy projects. Recent media report on Bhasha dam was not accurate, or reflected on personal view of an individual official.”

The reference is to news reports from a parliamentary committee during which a former Chairman Wapda claimed that the Diamer-Bhasha project is being cancelled due to the stringent conditions attached by the Chinese side for its financing. The report was never formally clarified by any government body.

Mr Zhao made no mention of the reported demand from the Chinese side to allow the Yuan to be used as legal tender in Gwadar. Regarding news reports that Pakistan will receive 9 per cent of Gwadar Port’s earnings, he shared a published clarification issued by the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) chairman. In the clarification, the chairman confirms that the GPA will get “9pc of the gross revenue from port and marine service businesses and 15pc of the free zone businesses.”

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2017

 

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Takeaways from the 7th JCC Meeting on CPEC

BY ASIA MAQSOOD

DEC 16, 2017
South Asia

China and Pakistan have been working to promote the construction of the CPEC project through sustenance of Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC). According to the available in formation on the official websites of the CPEC, there are five working groups which include long-term planning, energy, transportation infrastructure, industrial cooperation and Gwadar Port.JCC deals with the overall planning and coordination while the above mentioned working groups are responsible for the detailed planning and implementation of the projects under CPEC.

Since Aug 2013,seven JCC meetings have been held to review the progress on CPEC. The first ever meeting of JCC on CPEC was held in Islamabad on Aug 28, 2013 which symbolized the joint efforts of both countries to promote the implementation of the relevant work on the key areas of infrastructure, energy and investment. The summary for the long term planning of CPEC project was prepared on the basis of mutual understandings of both countries. Second JCC meeting was held in Feb, 2014 in which feasibility studies on 16 energy projects were approved. Third JCC meeting was held onAug 27, 2014 in which the prioritized or early harvest projects under CPEC were finalized. Fourth JCC meeting was held in Beijing on 25 March, 2015 where many selected energy projects including coal based, hydel, solar and wind energy projects were reviewed. This meeting also reviewed the reports presented by the joint working groups on five key areas. Fifth meeting was held in Pakistan on 10-12 Nov, 2015. In this meeting it was concluded that the construction of Diamer-Bhasha Dam should be included along with the accorded approval of the coal-based power plants to be built at the Thar Desert in Sindh province to enhance the capacity from 660-2600 MW.The 6thJCCmeeting was held in Beijing on December 29, 2016 in which several new projects were signed. Each province was set to get an industrial zone.It was concluded on a pleasing note to speed up the development of the existing projects. Important decisions taken during this meeting include that a 1320 MW power plant will be completed in Sahiwalin 2017.

The most recent 7th JCC meeting on CPEC was held on Nov 20, 2017 in Islamabad. The key points of this meeting included the signing of much debated CPEC Long Term Plan (LTP)2014-2030 which includes collaboration in areas of industrial cooperation, agriculture, tourism and financial cooperation. It has attempted to formalize the future roadmap for industrial and economic collaboration involving special economic zones along the CPEC stretch in Pakistan and adopt a Long Term Plan (LTP) 2030.It has been inferred that the main focus of the seventh JCC meeting remained on the special economic/industrial zones while the five joint working groups (JWGs) met earlier on the Nov 20, 2017 to remove any irritant and suggested the five ways on the projects pertaining to — Gwadar, energy, transport infrastructure, special economic zones. Pakistan’s primary objective is to enhance its industrial capacity from assembling imported parts to local production of goods and encouraging China’s enterprises to invest in Pakistani market to improve the energy efficient appliance industry.

Moreover, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwain this meeting raised its preference for Rashakai industrial estate over Hattar in unequivocal terms and the China has agreed to the provincial right of site selection for industrial estates. Furthermore, since China’ s proposed financial structure regarding Diamer-Bhasha Dam was not approved by Pakistan yet, still it provides the two sides with an opportunity to generate a debate for the future development of this project. . There was also an ample discussion on the railway projects, Gwadar International Airport, energy projects and industrial estates, already included in the CPEC with the focus on the implementation of the existing projects and the finalization of the feasibility reports of these projects. Under the road map, the Chinese side would start investing in the nine Special Economic Zones directly after JCC’s clearance to avail benefits of tax exemption.

The cabinet committee on the CPEC presided over by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has already cleared the proposals for the fresh projects and nine SEZs.This will offer 15- to 20-year tax exemption to China in case investment is made before 2020.

In a nutshell, the chronological order of the seven JCC meetings shows that there are following the projects which Pakistan has been pursuing in the last seven meetings of JCC which include Diamer-Bhasha dam, the Main Line 1 (ML1is considered as the logistic backbone of this corridor) up gradation of the Peshawar to Karachi railway line, the Karachi Circular Railway, and three road projects (which include KKH (remaining portion), D.I.Khan to Zhob and Khuzdar to Basima, Completing feasibility and other formalities of Gilgit—Shandur—Chitral—Chakdara and Naukundi—Mashkhel—Panjgaur roads coincided with 7th JCC). The approval of the project ML1 is awaiting the cost estimates which would be generated within the coming three months.

Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that the Long Term Plan would be public on 18th of December, 2017 which would further add the prospects for more inclusive research of this mega project. Simultaneously there are bright prospects to jack up the developments in various sectors which include agriculture, information technology. This demonstrates the success of this meeting and the willingness of China to diversify its cooperation under the CPEC project. In this backdrop, the harmony between the provincial and federal governments is required and they should work enthusiastically for the inclusion of more projects under CPEC and to complete the ongoing projects.

It can be hoped that the end result would be productive and the project will be able to proceed. The continuity of the meetings of Joint Cooperation Committee since 2013 to Nov 2017 shows the evaluation and the progress of work on the ongoing projects under CPEC. 7th JCC has further deepened mutual cooperation between the two countries under the framework of CPEC and would pave a clear way for Pakistan to enter the phase of Industrial Cooperation.

 

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http://cpec.gov.pk/brain/public/uploads/documents/Final_English_Version.pdf