One of China’s Most Ambitious Projects Becomes a Corridor to Nowhere: Bloomberg

[BHarwana]

Plans originally called for a seaport, roads, railways, pipelines, dozens of factories and the largest airport in Pakistan. But, almost seven years after the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was established, there’s little evidence of that vision being realized. The site of the new airport, which was supposed to have been completed with Chinese funding more than three years ago, is a fenced-off area of scrub and dun-colored sand. Specks of mica in the dirt are the only things that glitter. The factories have yet to materialize on a stretch of beach along the bay south of the airport. And traffic at Gwadar’s tiny, three-berth port is sparse. A Pakistan Navy frigate is the only ship docked there during a recent visit, and there’s no sign of the sole scheduled weekly cargo run from Karachi.

Now about roads under CPEC.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1209870438698045444

https://twitter.com/x/status/1235276965348814848

https://twitter.com/x/status/1234806022436458503

 

[RangeMaster]

What the f*k, Pure BS written by Bloomberg, the same a**holes who spied on Muslim students in US. And now coming from a Pakistani member....
What do you think? Take only energy projects, had it not been CPEC, there would still be 12 load shedding across cities. Industries would be working half their capacity. 30 billion dollars worth of power projects added 12000MW to national grid. Tell me if not china who would loan us 30 billion dollars? IMF, ADB? Cause they don't cross 6-7 billion dollars limit. 3-4 major dams are under construction and we Pakistanis have neither the will nor finances to do that. ML1 is single greatest project in our railways history. Raksai and Faisalabad SEZs are Under construction. Dozens of Chinese auto manufacturers are making their assembly plants here.
Trade deficits are caused by useless projects which were forcefully included in CPEC by PMLN goons to gain political benefits. Orange line, solar park are few of them, 2+1billion dollars of useless shit.
The sole purpose of SEZs is export boost. Upto 1 billion dollars of FDI is expected in Faisalabad economic zone mainly from Chinese investors. Gwadar free zone was created for this reason.
We Pakistanis can never do things on our own, can't let others to do it for us. Its not a small project. It will take decades to complete. So don't start whining about this after reading western BS.

 

[ziaulislam]

India, US, IMF, World Bank everybody warned Pakistan about CPEC, but all criticism of the initiative fell on deaf ears of then ruling establishment and PMLN-government. Now the price of CPEC disaster is being paid through huge twin deficits, massive inflation and increased unemployment.

We need to understand that CPEC is not sea corridor for transports of good from china but a bid to improve oakistan infrastructure which is important but without other reforms wont work alone

 

[Ultima Thule]

In order to complete CPEC, Pakistan had to take on massive loans from IMF, WB, Chinese banks to finance imports such as machinery and construction material. Pakistan didn't get it financed directly through China's FDI. This caused huge trade and current account deficits in years between 2015 and 2018, the peak years of CPEC. Now that first phase is completed, Pakistan must utilize the capacity built to increase exports substantially. If it doesn't work then all CPEC initiative would be wasted.
Furthermore new projects need to be put on hold as Pakistan is going through a deadly debt trap.

sir who took a massive loans from IMF/WB, and every country running on loans, how about USA they have 14 trillion $$$ debts, and its Pakistani's politicians/ technocrats responsibilities to increase our industrial/agricultural/tourism etc etc capabilities/productivity

 

[blueazure]

India, US, IMF, World Bank everybody warned Pakistan about CPEC, but all criticism of the initiative fell on deaf ears of then ruling establishment and PMLN-government. Now the price of CPEC disaster is being paid through huge twin deficits, massive inflation and increased unemployment.

here i agree with you mr norwegian

CPEC was a bubble, a pipe dream, its future is in doldrums given china recent corona voes and slowing economy

 

[FuturePAF]

The infrastructure created under CPEC will only benefit the nation if Pakistani industries and farms can increase productivity by an order of magnitude within this decade. In which case CPEC will have been a blessing, otherwise it will be a burden. It’s as simple as that. If Pakistan can do what Turkey did between 2002 and 2012 and quadruple its economy in a decade, then all these loans will have been worth it.

 

[Mav3rick]

India, US, IMF, World Bank everybody warned Pakistan about CPEC, but all criticism of the initiative fell on deaf ears of then ruling establishment and PMLN-government. Now the price of CPEC disaster is being paid through huge twin deficits, massive inflation and increased unemployment.

All well-wishers of Pakistan indeed!

 

[ejaz007]

India, US, IMF, World Bank everybody warned Pakistan about CPEC, but all criticism of the initiative fell on deaf ears of then ruling establishment and PMLN-government. Now the price of CPEC disaster is being paid through huge twin deficits, massive inflation and increased unemployment.

You mean India is Pakistan's well-wisher.

 

[El Sidd]

not of anyone's interest but this was less than a week of A370.

All well-wishers of Pakistan indeed!

You mean India is Pakistan's well-wisher.

Aug 9, 2019
#7
Retired Troll
Retired Troll
ELITE MEMBER
It must be noted that PTI Media cell member @Norwegian had Pakistan and India flags as Display picture to help promote Modis rise and Kashmir Genocide.

 

[ejaz007]

True. I hope current PTI-government learns from past mistakes and do not repeat it.

The hope should be that PTI does not make new mistakes.

 

[PAKISTANFOREVER]

Last and only time India got financial assistance was way back in 1990 when it had only 1 billion USD left as reserves. Since then India has grown on its own feet and now have forex reserves at nearly 500 billion USD.

Which is why india, a nation of over 1.4 billion is a developed superpower............

 

[Mav3rick]

You mean India is Pakistan's well-wisher.

Sarcasm my friend, sarcasm

 

[Juggernaut_Flat_Plane_V8]

There is literally nothing CPEC did that Pakistan couldn't handle itself (and simply bid on international market for any contractor help there and get good competition and save money) if the whole thing is purely a logistics exercise.

If the objective was more industrialisation, again you need to be competitive so people are giving you a genuine lowest price offer on things...and you have inner discipline and organisation to deploy it and grow it.

Premiums add up on top of that inner honest willingness/capacity, the less competitive you are the more of a cost you will have to front...the more cost there is the less people benefit...the less people benefit, the more only those that already have means get all the benefit.

What you don't do is simply do shortcut substitute stuff....i.e replace current local oligarchy with another monolith (this time foreign) oligarch approach. It's not even an oligarch within your borders, sharing not even a cursory or perfunctory fealty to the soil it engages activities/transactions/commitments and all that essential crucial stuff.

In the end nothing beats home-cooking for a reason. Much thought and love went into it over millenia by an ethereal commitment and loyalty in essentially a similar social structure (to nation) but at more itemized level that is family. You would not be alive without those that cared about you when you were too weak to fend for yourself.... and they put you above everything else of import to them for a good long while....for the same was what they went through.

There can be no foreign substitute for these kind of bonds when it comes to a nation either,...can a person of far different outlook, upbringing and thought pattern and ambition and position/station really take care of you like a mother and father (or the patriot equivalent in terms of nation)? They may assist you in some way, but you need to get the basic set up of family correct on the basic things to even make proper use, to hold them up to their word.... and have proper practical context of any "warm" assistance or a more colder transactional relationship underneath it.

Essentially you are either a nation willing to put the work in and reach your ambitions...or you are posing as one and you are simply taken for a ride by whomever sees a benefit for them in it.

@Desert Fox

this was a thoroughly insightful and enjoyable read...thank you

 

[FuturePAF]

All future CPEC projects should be focused on increased productivity of our industries and farms, building SEZ to employ our people, and transfer of technology so we move up the value added chain. Once we grow with the infrastructure already build then we should resume more infrastructure projects. Hence why we wait to build Mainline 1 or only do the safety critical parts.

we need trade deals and investment that actually boosted exports fast.

while it’s true no one was ready to give us a $30-40 billion loan, and Pakistan appreciates the jump start China is giving Pakistan, it is up to our government and our business community to make the reforms and climb out of this.

This loan is similar in many ways to the Loan America have Britain after the second war war. That loan got their economy going again and wasn’t fully paid back until 2006; 60 years later.

While not the same, The British example rhymes with our current state.

 

[American Pakistani]

I don't agree with the article @Norwegian

The problem with pakistan is different. It's the mentality of vast majority. Pakistanis who make a nation of 220 million people feels its a fashion to criticize and pick worms out of local produce. They love imported maal mostly and even want govt to provide subsides on it.

Pakistanis working in companies like Toyota Honda Suzuki, failed to push their companies to manufacture in Pakistan and use those factories to even export to at least middle east.

I like to give Bangladesh model as it was way poorer than Pakistan but look where it stands now in a short time period. They are now manufacturing and exporting computer chips, refrigerators, cell phones, ships, television and other such stuff.

Currently Imran Khan is trying hard reforms for the future, but the lazies in Pakistan doesn't want to stand with him. They rather have Nawaz zardari bhutto etc who borrowed borrowed borrowed in the name of Pakistan(pakistan as collateral) and made their wealth and kept the fool lazy public more fool.

Change yourself people, if you want the country to change for better. Instead of relying on govt. Stop importing and start exporting.