Chairman CPEC Authority, Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa has said that Pakistanattaches great importance to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), anational project, and is ready to pay any price for its success.

He stated this while talking to a delegation of senior officials andresearchers of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) at the CPECAuthority’s Secretariat.

The IPS delegation comprised its Executive President Khalid Rahman, GMOperations Naufil Shahrukh, senior associates Amanullah Khan, Mirza HamidHasan, Dr Maliha Zeba Khan, Ambassador (r) Tajammul Altaf, Brigadier (r)Said Nazir Mohmand, and members of the Institute’s research and outreachteam including Shafaq Sarfraz, Asim Ehsan, Kulsoom Belal, Wali Farooqi,Hafiz Inamullah Khan, Shahid Afzal and Maimoona Mahmood.

Briefing the delegation about the progress on CPEC, Gen (r) Asim SaleemBajwa said that work on the eastern, western and central alignments is infull swing, and the second phase of the project is just beginning. He alsorubbished the claims that work on phase one has slowed down, claimingnothing was on hold.

He was of the view that underdeveloped areas, especially southern parts ofBalochistan were being given importance in CPEC; a dam and desalinationplant have been built in Gwadar in a bid to resolve chronic water shortagesaffecting the inhabitants. An airport with the biggest runway of Pakistanworth $230 million was also being built in Gwadar.

Commenting on phase one of CPEC, the chairman of the authority said thefirst phase’s success depends on the second phase, which involvesbusiness-to-business and people-to-people contacts. He also said synergyamong all stakeholders is required to make CPEC a success. In this regard,Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry was also being revived,he informed.

Asim Saleem Bajwa stressed the need for projecting CPEC as a regionalconnectivity initiative to make Pakistan emerge as an economicallygalvanizing state instead of a security or terror-fighting state on theglobal spectrum. Afghan transit trade, he added, is also now beingfacilitated through Gwadar port.

Khalid Rahman opined that China and Pakistan both need each other toimplement CPEC as the initiative’s success lies in further strengtheningbilateral relations. He also underlined the importance of transparency andeffective perception management for the success of CPEC to counter thenefarious designs of Pakistan and China’s adversaries at all levels.