“This Pakistani journalist is spreading dangerous rumors about CPEC,” Chinese ambassador exposes fak

[Kabira]

“This Pakistani journalist is spreading dangerous rumors about CPEC,” Chinese ambassador exposes fake news about CPEC

ISLAMABAD – As multi-billion dollar project, China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) gets caught in conspiracy theories and hostile propaganda, a staffer at Chinese embassy has publicised the name of the journalist who is allegedly disseminating false rumours about CPEC.

Muhammad Lee, a staffer at Chinese consulate has accused Zafar Bhutta, a writer and reporter at Tribune, of maligning CPEC to sabotage it by writing propagandist pieces regarding the regional network of corridor.

Zafar had written a news story in the Tribune reporting that China had offered Pakistan that it was willing to finance the un-built portion of a multibillion-dollar gas pipeline project.

“China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPPB) – currently engaged with the $1.4 billion Gwadar-Nawabshah LNG terminal and pipeline project – was keen to work on the remaining portion of the gas pipeline from Gwadar to the Iranian border to implement the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project,” the report added.

Muhammad Lee took to the twitter and called the journalist a ‘fibster’ who is deceiving the masses.

Lee went on to say that the report was baseless and said the rumors were dangerous in their nature and could harm the project. “There are many false reports circulating about the project, which should be taken into consideration and condemned,” Lee said.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pak...nese-ambassador-exposes-fake-news-about-cpec/

 

[Turingsage]

This should keep him busy as well

• THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE > BUSINESS

The fine print on the CPEC portfolio
By Faran Mahmood
Published: November 6, 2016
340SHARES
SHARE TWEET EMAIL
ISLAMABAD: Mega projects are all about multi-billion dollar budgets, fast-tracking schedules and triggering media hype. However, they also involve creating a consistent but compelling narrative for stakeholder consensus.

Pakistan too, is expected to get a “CPEC booster shot” of around $5 billion in Foreign Direct Investment over the next couple of years – with a promise to jump start its sluggish economy, at least in the short term. Since 2013, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has had its fair share of highs and lows in the national media but a closer look reveals that the devil is in the details. Whilst the government claims that CPEC is the ‘Holy Grail’ of its development agenda, the picture is not as simple as it is portrayed to be.

Missing policy frameworks

Imagine the chaos that may ensue if we execute the $51.5 billion CPEC programme in the absence of a national transport policy. All stakeholder exercises in the past have failed to roll out a viable and fair national transport policy. The Federal Ombudsman Secretariat called for formulation of the national policy in February this year but the issue has been thrown on the backburner once again.

Policymakers need to decide the market structure and offer just the right incentives. For instance, if we liberalise the power market and offer targeted subsidies to firms willing to invest in rural areas, we can expect increased rural electrification levels. In the absence of such a winning policy blueprint, the participation of private sector in infrastructure projects will remain low.

Can we break the “connectivity bottleneck” in absence of such a policy framework? Only time will tell.

Who’s calling the shots?

A Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit has been set up in Islamabad that works with the Joint Cooperation Committee of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Planning Commission. Although a multi-tier mechanism has been put in place besides setting up five joint working groups to deal with energy, transport infrastructure, special economic zones, Gwadar and planning; it is the Ministry of Finance that is calling all the shots. The role of the CPEC secretariat at the Planning Commission has been reduced to that of an inter-provincial coordinator.

CPEC planners lack the deep domain experience of putting systems and processes in place for the performance reporting of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies and frequent tracking of key variables. The only tool available at hand is an obsolete PC-iii form and the committee established by the prime minister in June 2015 to propose alternative mechanisms for monitoring of megaprojects has not yet come up with a new project management process suite.

Problems with the boomtown, Gwadar

Gwadar has an acute drinking water shortage as its Ankara Kaur dam has dried up. The Mirani dam will not able to meet its future water requirements after a mass migration of labour force takes place to complete projects such as Gwadar airport and coal power plants.

With a depth of only 14.5 metres, Gwadar can’t become a trans-shipment hub for transit trade from Central Asian states. Moreover, oil shipments from Gwadar to China via trains aren’t economically viable as it costs 800% higher than direct shipments to Chinese ports.

Iffy Economics: The Chinese model

In 2014, Sri Lanka borrowed several billion dollars from China for infrastructure development, on the condition that major contracts shall be awarded to Chinese firms without any competition. All these projects are now in shambles – with the Sri Lankan government reaching out to the International Monetary Fund for payback of expensive Chinese loans.

Drawing parallels, Pakistan is also repeating same mistakes by awarding contracts to Chinese players without any competitive bidding – with a sovereign guarantee of 18% return on investments.

Moreover, there is no guarantee that Chinese will pump money into our local economy by sourcing materials and labour force from Pakistan. The lion’s share of 400,000 jobs that will be created may go to Chinese labour force – not to mention the hefty cement and construction material import bill that may touch the billion dollar mark.

The way CPEC is unfolding now calls for new rules of business such that it mutually benefits both economies. All tenders should be open and transparent with mandatory provisions to source local materials, labour and management. The key lesson to learn at this stage is that there’s no such thing as a free lunch and there are no shortcuts to development.

The writer is a Cambridge graduate and is working as a management consultant.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/1222526/delving-deep-fine-print-cpec-portfolio/



Its clear that this is an asset stripping exercise by China with China sovereign guaranteed by the Pakistan govt to return at least 20% on the whole CPEC lending and provide employment for the Chinese whose economy is facing a major structural change. The Chinese are managing this change at the expense of Pakistan. Its equally clear that NOT A SINGLE BARREL OF OIL will be transported from Gwadar to China, not when it costs 800% more. You have to wryly smile at the gullibility of the Pakistani hoi polloi and their endless ability at self deception fed from its "establishment"

 

[Kabira]

Its clear that this is an asset stripping exercise by China with China sovereign guaranteed by the Pakistan govt to return at least 20% on the whole CPEC lending and provide employment for the Chinese whose economy is facing a major structural change. The Chinese are managing this change at the expense of Pakistan. Its equally clear that NOT A SINGLE BARREL OF OIL will be transported from Gwadar to China, not when it costs 800% more. You have to wryly smile at the gullibility of the Pakistani hoi polloi and their endless ability at self deception fed from its "establishment"

Costs 800% more? Oil transported through pipelines is cheapest.

 

[Saleem]

this tribune is pakistani puppet front organization of a foreign newspaper....... all thanks to the degenerate musharraff

 

[Talwar e Pakistan]

This should keep him busy as well

• THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE > BUSINESS

The fine print on the CPEC portfolio
By Faran Mahmood
Published: November 6, 2016
340SHARES
SHARE TWEET EMAIL
ISLAMABAD: Mega projects are all about multi-billion dollar budgets, fast-tracking schedules and triggering media hype. However, they also involve creating a consistent but compelling narrative for stakeholder consensus.

Pakistan too, is expected to get a “CPEC booster shot” of around $5 billion in Foreign Direct Investment over the next couple of years – with a promise to jump start its sluggish economy, at least in the short term. Since 2013, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has had its fair share of highs and lows in the national media but a closer look reveals that the devil is in the details. Whilst the government claims that CPEC is the ‘Holy Grail’ of its development agenda, the picture is not as simple as it is portrayed to be.

Missing policy frameworks

Imagine the chaos that may ensue if we execute the $51.5 billion CPEC programme in the absence of a national transport policy. All stakeholder exercises in the past have failed to roll out a viable and fair national transport policy. The Federal Ombudsman Secretariat called for formulation of the national policy in February this year but the issue has been thrown on the backburner once again.

Policymakers need to decide the market structure and offer just the right incentives. For instance, if we liberalise the power market and offer targeted subsidies to firms willing to invest in rural areas, we can expect increased rural electrification levels. In the absence of such a winning policy blueprint, the participation of private sector in infrastructure projects will remain low.

Can we break the “connectivity bottleneck” in absence of such a policy framework? Only time will tell.

Who’s calling the shots?

A Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit has been set up in Islamabad that works with the Joint Cooperation Committee of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Planning Commission. Although a multi-tier mechanism has been put in place besides setting up five joint working groups to deal with energy, transport infrastructure, special economic zones, Gwadar and planning; it is the Ministry of Finance that is calling all the shots. The role of the CPEC secretariat at the Planning Commission has been reduced to that of an inter-provincial coordinator.

CPEC planners lack the deep domain experience of putting systems and processes in place for the performance reporting of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies and frequent tracking of key variables. The only tool available at hand is an obsolete PC-iii form and the committee established by the prime minister in June 2015 to propose alternative mechanisms for monitoring of megaprojects has not yet come up with a new project management process suite.

Problems with the boomtown, Gwadar

Gwadar has an acute drinking water shortage as its Ankara Kaur dam has dried up. The Mirani dam will not able to meet its future water requirements after a mass migration of labour force takes place to complete projects such as Gwadar airport and coal power plants.

With a depth of only 14.5 metres, Gwadar can’t become a trans-shipment hub for transit trade from Central Asian states. Moreover, oil shipments from Gwadar to China via trains aren’t economically viable as it costs 800% higher than direct shipments to Chinese ports.

Iffy Economics: The Chinese model

In 2014, Sri Lanka borrowed several billion dollars from China for infrastructure development, on the condition that major contracts shall be awarded to Chinese firms without any competition. All these projects are now in shambles – with the Sri Lankan government reaching out to the International Monetary Fund for payback of expensive Chinese loans.

Drawing parallels, Pakistan is also repeating same mistakes by awarding contracts to Chinese players without any competitive bidding – with a sovereign guarantee of 18% return on investments.

Moreover, there is no guarantee that Chinese will pump money into our local economy by sourcing materials and labour force from Pakistan. The lion’s share of 400,000 jobs that will be created may go to Chinese labour force – not to mention the hefty cement and construction material import bill that may touch the billion dollar mark.

The way CPEC is unfolding now calls for new rules of business such that it mutually benefits both economies. All tenders should be open and transparent with mandatory provisions to source local materials, labour and management. The key lesson to learn at this stage is that there’s no such thing as a free lunch and there are no shortcuts to development.

The writer is a Cambridge graduate and is working as a management consultant.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/1222526/delving-deep-fine-print-cpec-portfolio/



Its clear that this is an asset stripping exercise by China with China sovereign guaranteed by the Pakistan govt to return at least 20% on the whole CPEC lending and provide employment for the Chinese whose economy is facing a major structural change. The Chinese are managing this change at the expense of Pakistan. Its equally clear that NOT A SINGLE BARREL OF OIL will be transported from Gwadar to China, not when it costs 800% more. You have to wryly smile at the gullibility of the Pakistani hoi polloi and their endless ability at self deception fed from its "establishment"

I could name a million mistakes in this article...

 

[randomradio]

Something for the Pakistanis to consider.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshe...ven-know-how-much-money-it-owes/#2c70880ca831
The official estimate of what Sri Lanka currently owes its financiers is $64.9 billion — $8 billion of which is owned by China. The country’s debt-to-GDP currently stands around 75% and 95.4% of all government revenue is currently going towards debt repayment.

http://newsfirst.lk/english/2016/07/failed-large-scale-projects-sink-nation-debt/143319
Senior Lecturer of Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, Dr. Aminda Methsila Perera pointed out that when Rs 100 is earned, 95 rupees and 40 cents is spent on repaying the loan and the interest, thereby, leaving only a mere 4 rupees and 60 cents to spend on education , infrastructure development and even to continue with public services.

 

[Turingsage]

I could name a million mistakes in this article...

Please do, since you want to be honest do name the MILLION MISTAKES.

 

[Lavrentiy]

Express Tribune is doing actual journalism and hats off to them. At least, it is not a state propaganda machine like the Urdu press and TV anchors which continuously lick the balls of Pakistan Army.

Truth is bitter, especially for the jingoists and whining FA Pass generals of the GHQ. Chinese are also whining since they are a communist-controlled state and they have no capacity for tolerating differing opinions.

The Chinese are not to be blamed though. It is their money and they have every right to get the maximum return out of their investments. The onus is on Pakistani authorities, civil and military, for ensuring transparency and national interest.

The military is in for the lucrative construction and security contracts while politicians like Ganja would want the CPEC projects to favour his voting areas apart from the obvious kick backs and commission money.

The Pakistani military and their "chukoos" have recently whined over Cyril Leaks. Now they will call for the head of this journalist and demand that only their bullshit narrative be propagated. There is no shortage of hubris and narcissist self-righteousness in this clan.

Another traitor is in the making. I am impressed with the speed with which "traitors" are propping up in the country. Though, we are 200 million, but I am afraid we will soon be running short of "patriots".

 

[NALANDA]

CPEC is the most defining development for India China relationship. The calculation risk China took by including Jammu and Kashmir ( without which there will not be CPEC) will haunt them till eternity.

How?

India is free from pseudo restrictions in its dealings with other countries vis a vis China. The ability and commitment is already paying rich dividend wrt quid pro quo from Japan and USA....

What about Pakistan?

Pakistan is destined to be what it was to be eventually. CPEC only aids in expediting the whole process. A self goal...in popular parlence.

 

[Kabira]

CPEC is the most defining development for India China relationship. The calculation risk China took by including Jammu and Kashmir ( without which there will not be CPEC) will haunt them till eternity.

How?

India is free from pseudo restrictions in its dealings with other countries vis a vis China. The ability and commitment is already paying rich dividend wrt quid pro quo from Japan and USA....

What about Pakistan?

Pakistan is destined to be what it was to be eventually. CPEC only aids in expediting the whole process. A self goal...in popular parlence.

bc teri jalne ki idher takh boo a rahi hai

 

[barbarosa]

“This Pakistani journalist is spreading dangerous rumors about CPEC,” Chinese ambassador exposes fake news about CPEC

ISLAMABAD – As multi-billion dollar project, China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) gets caught in conspiracy theories and hostile propaganda, a staffer at Chinese embassy has publicised the name of the journalist who is allegedly disseminating false rumours about CPEC.

Muhammad Lee, a staffer at Chinese consulate has accused Zafar Bhutta, a writer and reporter at Tribune, of maligning CPEC to sabotage it by writing propagandist pieces regarding the regional network of corridor.

Zafar had written a news story in the Tribune reporting that China had offered Pakistan that it was willing to finance the un-built portion of a multibillion-dollar gas pipeline project.

“China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPPB) – currently engaged with the $1.4 billion Gwadar-Nawabshah LNG terminal and pipeline project – was keen to work on the remaining portion of the gas pipeline from Gwadar to the Iranian border to implement the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project,” the report added.

Muhammad Lee took to the twitter and called the journalist a ‘fibster’ who is deceiving the masses.

Lee went on to say that the report was baseless and said the rumors were dangerous in their nature and could harm the project. “There are many false reports circulating about the project, which should be taken into consideration and condemned,” Lee said.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pak...nese-ambassador-exposes-fake-news-about-cpec/

May be Zafar bhuta Indian or US agent,
ISI should investigate him.

 

[AUz]

This should keep him busy as well

• THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE > BUSINESS

The fine print on the CPEC portfolio
By Faran Mahmood
Published: November 6, 2016
340SHARES
SHARE TWEET EMAIL
ISLAMABAD: Mega projects are all about multi-billion dollar budgets, fast-tracking schedules and triggering media hype. However, they also involve creating a consistent but compelling narrative for stakeholder consensus.

Pakistan too, is expected to get a “CPEC booster shot” of around $5 billion in Foreign Direct Investment over the next couple of years – with a promise to jump start its sluggish economy, at least in the short term. Since 2013, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has had its fair share of highs and lows in the national media but a closer look reveals that the devil is in the details. Whilst the government claims that CPEC is the ‘Holy Grail’ of its development agenda, the picture is not as simple as it is portrayed to be.

Missing policy frameworks

Imagine the chaos that may ensue if we execute the $51.5 billion CPEC programme in the absence of a national transport policy. All stakeholder exercises in the past have failed to roll out a viable and fair national transport policy. The Federal Ombudsman Secretariat called for formulation of the national policy in February this year but the issue has been thrown on the backburner once again.

Policymakers need to decide the market structure and offer just the right incentives. For instance, if we liberalise the power market and offer targeted subsidies to firms willing to invest in rural areas, we can expect increased rural electrification levels. In the absence of such a winning policy blueprint, the participation of private sector in infrastructure projects will remain low.

Can we break the “connectivity bottleneck” in absence of such a policy framework? Only time will tell.

Who’s calling the shots?

A Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit has been set up in Islamabad that works with the Joint Cooperation Committee of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Planning Commission. Although a multi-tier mechanism has been put in place besides setting up five joint working groups to deal with energy, transport infrastructure, special economic zones, Gwadar and planning; it is the Ministry of Finance that is calling all the shots. The role of the CPEC secretariat at the Planning Commission has been reduced to that of an inter-provincial coordinator.

CPEC planners lack the deep domain experience of putting systems and processes in place for the performance reporting of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies and frequent tracking of key variables. The only tool available at hand is an obsolete PC-iii form and the committee established by the prime minister in June 2015 to propose alternative mechanisms for monitoring of megaprojects has not yet come up with a new project management process suite.

Problems with the boomtown, Gwadar

Gwadar has an acute drinking water shortage as its Ankara Kaur dam has dried up. The Mirani dam will not able to meet its future water requirements after a mass migration of labour force takes place to complete projects such as Gwadar airport and coal power plants.

With a depth of only 14.5 metres, Gwadar can’t become a trans-shipment hub for transit trade from Central Asian states. Moreover, oil shipments from Gwadar to China via trains aren’t economically viable as it costs 800% higher than direct shipments to Chinese ports.

Iffy Economics: The Chinese model

In 2014, Sri Lanka borrowed several billion dollars from China for infrastructure development, on the condition that major contracts shall be awarded to Chinese firms without any competition. All these projects are now in shambles – with the Sri Lankan government reaching out to the International Monetary Fund for payback of expensive Chinese loans.

Drawing parallels, Pakistan is also repeating same mistakes by awarding contracts to Chinese players without any competitive bidding – with a sovereign guarantee of 18% return on investments.

Moreover, there is no guarantee that Chinese will pump money into our local economy by sourcing materials and labour force from Pakistan. The lion’s share of 400,000 jobs that will be created may go to Chinese labour force – not to mention the hefty cement and construction material import bill that may touch the billion dollar mark.

The way CPEC is unfolding now calls for new rules of business such that it mutually benefits both economies. All tenders should be open and transparent with mandatory provisions to source local materials, labour and management. The key lesson to learn at this stage is that there’s no such thing as a free lunch and there are no shortcuts to development.

The writer is a Cambridge graduate and is working as a management consultant.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/1222526/delving-deep-fine-print-cpec-portfolio/



Its clear that this is an asset stripping exercise by China with China sovereign guaranteed by the Pakistan govt to return at least 20% on the whole CPEC lending and provide employment for the Chinese whose economy is facing a major structural change. The Chinese are managing this change at the expense of Pakistan. Its equally clear that NOT A SINGLE BARREL OF OIL will be transported from Gwadar to China, not when it costs 800% more. You have to wryly smile at the gullibility of the Pakistani hoi polloi and their endless ability at self deception fed from its "establishment"

The vast networks of roads, energy infrastructure, massive railway links, optical fibers, and real estate that is being laid ACROSS Pakistan isn't "Chinese" owned. It'd be Pakistan's...so what's the fuss about? CPEC is just the blueprint of future growth paradigm. In other words, hopefully it will create an environment for future investments, booming conditions for local economy, and uplift Pakistan's economic might.

You can all soothe your soul by such articles (I don't blame the article, it points some good concerns)--however, CPEC is something GOOD for Pakistan and its future, and not bad (side effects not withstanding).

Uptil now, there are only 7000 Chinese engineers and workers in Pakistan (A country of 200 million!!!!)--You think the project is being laid out by Chinese on their own?

It is a Pakistani project with Chinese investment (since it's mutually benefitial)...

A lot has to be done, but the foundations of industrialization and significant economic expansion are being laid all across Pakistan as we speak. You can keep fantasizing the irrelevant stuff though..

Our Frontier Works Organization alone has laid 1000km road networks connecting major ports and trading cities of Pakistan to various population centers of Pakistan in last three years (FWO is working independent of Chinese involvement)--and this is just a start of their work. Interconnectivity within Pakistan is going to increase manifold. But it's all worthless according to Indians. In my last visit to Pakistan, I myself saw how distances that took 10 hours in 2010 have become around 5 hours in 2015. Yup, that's cutting travel time in HALF across major population centers of Pakistan in just five years or so..

And as I said, this is just the "start" of what is envisioned for medium term development (by 2030 etc).

You can keep your eyes closed like pigeons though.

 

[Finer]

Ever since CPEC started, there have been saturated with false news left and right. Mostly from Indian medias which is understandable, but from Pakistan media? That is serious accusation especially those in charge have cleared the matter at hand. This article might seem non-threatening, but taking this news as lightly might be bad idea given the patterns lately. And unfortunately, this is just beginning. More false news are expected to come since we now live in the era of disinformation war.

And remember Indian officials did threaten to undermine CPEC on public platforms which is on official record.

 

[v9s]

Please do, since you want to be honest do name the MILLION MISTAKES.

Well first of all, the Chinese aren't going to be importing oil for their eastern side from CPEC. CPEC is primarily meant for the development of their undeveloped western provinces. Besides, developing cheaper oil transportation mechanisms will take time to implement anyway (the rail links will take till 2022 to be developed till Kashgar and the oil pipeline may take the same time) - which makes it obvious that CPEC's primary purpose is not for cheaper oil imports immediately.

Secondly, it's not just Gwadar port that is being developed. If you were anything more than a parrot, you'd know that the shipping port capacity and dredging works in existing ports of Karachi is being ramped up and upgraded massively - and in fact it will be these ports that will be used extensively (in addition to Gwader port). Google SAPT

 

[truthseeker2010]

Costs 800% more?

thats referring to transport via rail.