BEIJING – Ambassador of Pakistan to China Masood Khalid has hoped thatChina will continue to play a constructive and positive role to helpstabilize the situation in South Asia.
“We hope that China will continue to play a constructive and positive rolein helping stabilize the situation,” he said during an exclusive interviewwith Phoenix TV on Sunday.
Pakistan, he said, is providing all possible security for Chinese friendsworking on projects in Pakistan. And the current situation has not affectedthem in any manner.
Meanwhile, in a separate interview, he informed that the first phase of theChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor has progressed well, now both countriesare working to chart a course so it can realize its full potential.
This phase will have a greater focus on socioeconomic development, jobcreation and people’s livelihoods. For the purpose, both countries haveoutlined socioeconomic development and poverty alleviation, industrialdevelopment and agriculture cooperation as the priority areas,” he added.
Ambassador Khalid said, over the past five years, 11 projects have beencompleted under the CPEC, and 11 are in the construction stage. The totalinvestment of these 22 projects is about US $18.9 billion, while 20 moreprojects are in the pipeline.
In the energy sector, there are around 21 projects. A total of 15prioritized energy projects will add around 11,110 MW of energy into thenational grid. Seven energy projects have been completed and six are underconstruction. CPEC energy projects include hydro, solar and coal-firedpower plants. The major coal-based projects are based on super-criticaltechnology.
Among infrastructure projects, there are two big road projects: the KKHPhase-II (118 km), and Peshawar-KarachiMotorway (Multan-Sukhur Section, 392km), which are in the completion phase.
Both sides are also working on details of a dry port at Havelian, theupgrading of 1,872 km of existing railways, also called the Main Line-I orML-I, and the Karachi Circular Railway. A 27-km urban mass transit systemin Lahore will also be completed this year. These projects account for US $5.87 billion of the preferential loans from China.
He said in addition to building the Gwadar Port, there are differentauxiliary projects. The Gwadar East Bay Expressway and the Gwadar Port FreeZone are in the implementation phase and Phase-I of Gwadar Port Free Zonehas been completed. Around 30 companies have committed investment of US $400 million in the Free Zone.
Further, the New Gwadar International Airport, Gwadar Friendship Hospital,and Gwadar Technical and Vocational Institute are expected to be launchedthis year. In Sept 2016, a China-Pakistan Friendship School was establishedin Gwadar, which accommodates around 500 students.
In economic ties, both sides have identified nine special economic zonesunder the CPEC.Three of them, the Rashakai Economic Zone, Dhabeji Economic Zone, andFaisalabad M-3 Economic Zone, are at an advanced stage and expected to belaunched this year.
These economic zones are an important part of the second phase of the CPECthat will lead to industrial relocation and development, job creation andskills development in Pakistan, and they lay a good business foundation forsmall and medium-sized Chinese enterprises.
Additionally, a cross-border fiber optics project with a total length of820 km has already been completed.
China will also set up six poverty alleviation demonstration zones inPakistan as part of its socio-economic development and poverty alleviationcooperation. Both sides have also established frameworks for cooperation infields such as agriculture, industry, oil, and gas as well as education.
The CPEC projects have already realized Chinese investments and arecreating local jobs in Pakistan.
China has become the largest trading partner of Pakistan and the biggestsource of foreign direct investment, and the bilateral trade crossed $20billion last year, he concluded.