ISLAMABAD – China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project has so farprovided jobs to 70,000 Pakistanis during the last five years and willgenerate 0.7 million more employment opportunities in future, ChineseAmbassador Yao Jing disclosed on Tuesday.

During the ‘Breakfast with Jang’ on the ‘CPEC’s role in China’s One Beltand One Road Initiative’ at a local hotel, the ambassador said the corridorproject consisted 43 initiatives valuing $50-$60 billion and the executionof 22 of them valuing $18 billion had been planned in the first five years.

“Eight projects have been successfully executed under the CPEC initiative,while work on 14 was under way,” he said. Mr Yao Jing said the CPEC was notmeant for China and Pakistan only and instead, it would benefit the entireregion. He said the corridor was the most important and best performingamong the projects being executed as part of China’s One and One RoadInitiative.

The ambassador said the CPEC project was overseen by the Sino-Pak JointCoordination Committee, which had so far met seven times. He said under thecorridor project, the development of four sectors of the economy as well asGwadar city was in full swing. Mr Yao Jing said among Gwadar developmentplans were the establishment of an economic zone and food processing zone,construction of a power plant, installation of a water plant, anddevelopment of a vocational training institute. He said the CPEC projectpromised energy production, infrastructure development, building ofhighways, railway network’s expansion, and development of special economiczones in Pakistan.

“The CPEC will give Pakistan more than 20 special economic zones,” he said,adding that the working group has already visited the sites of these zones.He said China’s One and One Road Initiative was meant to bring aboutprosperity through economic development and thus, improving the people’slives. He said the CPEC would equally benefit China and Pakistan and thatit would not only promote economic development but would also increaseregional cooperation for progress.

Mr Yao Jing said the corridor project had increased foreign investment inPakistan, helped increase the country’s economic growth rate to the highestlevel in the last decade, and was causing the generation of massiveemployment opportunities.