BEIJING, Dec 12 (APP):The completion of Sukkur-Multan section of Peshawarto Karachi Expressway will not only reduce the travelling time between thetwo cities but it will also directly promote the socio-economic developmentof the areas along the route, Chairman of China Construction Pakistan Co.,Ltd, Xiao Hua said.
“The completion of the project will reduce the opening time of the twoplaces from 11 hours to less than 4 hours, which will directly promote thesocio-economic development of the areas along the route, and will also playa positive role in connecting China and Pakistan,” he said in an exclusiveinterview with China Economic Daily-China Economic Net.
Xiao Hua said that Multan and Sukkur connected by the PKM project areimportant cities in Pakistan. Multan is the main producing area of ??cashcrops such as mango and date, and Sukkur is an important transportation hub.
“The company focuses on integrating more closely with the local economy andthe people, and through practical measures, it provides benefits toresidents along the line,” he added.
The Chairman said the first is to promote the development of industries andeconomies along the route. The project requires 88.12 million cubic metersof earthwork, 15 million cubic meters of crushed stone, 525 million litersof diesel, about 190,000 tons of steel, and about 750,000 tons of cement.These materials are purchased locally.
At the same time, the project cooperated with the local to develop 531borrowing pits and 129 quarries, which promoted the development of localearth-rock mining, transportation, and sales industries; the localengineering supplier and machinery leasing companies were paid Rs 148.5billion in engineering costs.
There are more than 1,000 local enterprises, which have promoted thedevelopment of the local economy and surrounding industries; paying taxesand fees to the local government of Pakistan in accordance with regulationshas contributed to improving the local government’s financial situation, headded.
He said the second is to provide a lot of employment and trainingopportunities. During the peak period of the project construction, morethan 28,900 local employees were employed, and a large number of jobopportunities were created through radiation from surrounding industries.
More than 4,500 equipment operators, more than 2,300 management andtechnical personnel have been trained for Pakistan, and a large number oflocal farmers who depend on the heavens have been transformed into modernindustrial workers in Pakistan, he added.
Xiao Hua said the third is to actively fulfill social responsibilities andbenefit the local community. Aiming at the current situation of localinfrastructure inferiority, the project has accumulated 79.6 kilometers ofconvenient roads, 20 bridges, 62 wells, and more than 300 canals. The totallength is over 40,000 meters.
The project team repaired the schools along the line, organized medicalteams, and provided free clinic services to more than 1,000 people in thevillage, he added.
The company remained active in the frontline of local rescue and disasterrelief, and actively participated in the rescue of various accident scenes.
It also assisted eight Pakistani university students to further theirstudies at Wuhan University of Technology and bear more than 1.5 millionyuan in tuition, living expenses, insurance and other expenses for 4 years,he added.
Sharing expiring as the first Chinese construction company entering thePakistani market, he said the company faced several challenges includinglack of resources and high temperature.
However, the China Construction will continue to serve the “China-PakistanEconomic Corridor” project and make its own contribution to improvingPakistan’s infrastructure construction, he added.
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Xiao Hua said in the course of implementing projects, Chinese architecturealways adheres to the principle of openness, and strives to drive morepeople and more social forces to coexist and jointly build a “home” culturethrough multiple ways and methods.
As respect to local religious beliefs and cultural practices, the companyinvested in the construction of more than 20 mosques along the PKM projectto facilitate the worship of Pakistani employees; in order to meet thehabits of Pakistani employees drinking milk tea on a regular basis, theproject is equipped with full-time tea boys.
It formulated code of conduct for Chinese employees which strictly regulatethe behavior of Chinese personnel and respect local customs and customs.
To strengthen the integration of Chinese and Pakistani culture, he said theproject provided a dedicated cafeteria and a Pakistani chef for Pakistaniemployees, equipped with daily necessities according to local habits.
During the Chinese and Pakistani festival, the project department will sendholiday condolences and blessings to Pakistani employees; CustomizePakistani clothes for Chinese employees, and wear national costumes ontraditional Chinese and Pakistani traditional festivals to experience theatmosphere of national culture.
To create a “same road, same family” culture, seminars between Chinese andPakistani employees, the company organized a series of communication andlearning activities, such as inviting Pakistani employees to learn Chinesecalligraphy, sending Pakistani employees to Wuhan to participate in sports.
In the Pakistani festivals such as Eid, Independence Day, and Eid al-Adha,various friendship activities are carried out with Pakistani employeesthrough the exchange of gifts, interactive experiences of each other ’scustoms, and sports competitions, he said.
Xiao Hua in the development of the Pakistani market, China Constructionstrives to strengthen cooperation with Chinese-funded enterprises inPakistan and strong local companies to achieve mutual benefit and win-winresults.
During the construction process, they actively fulfilled their socialresponsibilities, paid attention to the promotion of the “Belt and Road”initiative and the profound friendship between China and Pakistan, so thatthe local people could understand and appreciate the positive effect of theproject construction on the local economic development.
It may be mentioned here that on December 22, 2015, China Constructionsigned the Peshawar to Karachi Expressway (Sukur-Multan Section) in the EPCmode. The total length of the project is 392km, the contract value is US $2.889 billion, and the construction period is 3 years.
It is financed by the Export-Import Bank of China. In May 2016, agroundbreaking ceremony was held in Sukkur, a southern city of Pakistan. OnAugust 5, 2016, the owner officially issued a start-up order and began tocalculate the construction period.
In order to ensure the construction speed, 392 kilometers along the entireline were divided into 7 bid sections for simultaneous construction.
