In a positive development Chinese staff working on CPEC projects return back to Pakistan via special flight

ISLAMABAD – Gezhouba Group, a Chinese construction and engineering company,sent 131 Chinese workers on a charter flight operated by China SouthernAirlines to Pakistan in an effort to ensure projects under theChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) proceed, the company’s website said.

The group has several hydropower station projects in Pakistan. The 131staff had returned to China for the New Year Holidays and had become stuckdue to the COVID-19 pandemic. The group gathered from around the nation inUrumqi, Xinjianglink UygurAutonomous Region, on Friday to board the flight to Islamabad later thatday.

The workers must undergo a 14-day quarantine on arrival.

The CPEC, a flagship project under the China-proposed Belt and Roadlink Initiative whichinvolves about $50 billion in investment, has been impacted by the viruswith some projects facing delays, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah MahmoodQureshi told the Global Times in a recent interview.

A senior manager at Gwadar Port, a major project under the CPEC, told theGlobal Times that the port has been operating as normal, but due to thepandemic, many clients were facing difficulty retrieving their cargos.

Gezhouba Group were not available for comment as it was the weekend, butthe return of workers seems to be part of the joint efforts made by Chinaand Pakistan to continue work on CPEC projects, following PakistaniPresident Arif Alvi’s visit to Beijing last week.

“It wasn’t easy to gather so many workers from Urumqi, and then fly toIslamabad. We had support from many departments, including the ChineseEmbassy in Pakistan and the National Institute of Health of Pakistan,”Zhang Zhiqiang, vice director of Gezhouba Group’s Pakistan projects, wasquoted as saying by CRI online.

During Alvi’s visit to Beijing, which was aimed at showing solidaritybetween the nations, the two sides said every effort would be made toensure CPEC projects get back on track as soon as possible.

“I don’t think it’ll have an impact on the CPEC in the long run… As soonas we are over the hump of dealing with the coronavirus, I think we’ll beback on track,” Qureshi told the Global Times.