KARACHI: With each passing day China Pakistan Economic Corridor CPECproject is expanding and more and more investment is flowing into the multibillion dollars project.
Chinese companies have signed 41 different understandings for majorundertakings related to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) during2018, an official said on Thursday.
“Under these accords, Chinese firms will invest in energy, Gwadar port,road infrastructure, industrial development, etc,” Lee Xia Oxian, chairmanAssociation of Chinese Enterprises in Pakistan, said at Pakistan ChinaConstruction Conference, organised by Association of Builders andDevelopers (ABAD).
“The CPEC is not only important for Pakistan and China but it also holdsequal importance for other regional countries.”
Oxian added that Gwadar was the key project because all other CPEC projectsare linked to it.
Guo Chunshui, commercial and business consular of China, in his address,said CPEC was serving as a trade bridge between the two brotherly countries.
“The CPEC projects would generate immense employment and boost economicactivities,” Chunshui said adding this project would also deepen friendshipbetween the two countries.
Arij Jeewa, chairman Association of Builders and Developers, said Pakistanwas facing a shortage of 12 million housing units and an amount of $180billion was needed to overcome this deficit.
He said it was heartening to note that Chinese companies were investing bigtime in the CPEC projects.
Later, at business-to-business (B2B) meetings 19 Chinese companies and 21Pakistani counterparts exchanged views on the construction industry anddiscussed investment opportunities.
About 40 delegates representing 19 leading Chinese companies attended theconference.
The CPEC is a collection of infrastructure projects that are currentlyunder construction throughout Pakistan.
Originally valued at $46 billion, the value of CPEC projects is now worth$62 billion.