How can Pakistan create sustainable and high

growth rates in the near term (3 to 5 years) from the

benefits of CPEC?
CPEC: How Pakistan can take full benefit from
CPEC?
China-Pak Economic Corridor is an opportunity of bringing Pakistan into global economic mainstream for
which formulation of Industrial Policy is need of the hour.
Without proper industrial policy and system reforms Pakistan will only play role of trading hub for
Chinese products.

These were the views of Dr. Safdar A. Sohail Executive Director Excellence Center China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Joint Director PIDE during a CPEC awareness session arranged at
Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Regional Office on Tuesday.

Dr. Safdar A. Sohail delivered a detailed presentation on CPEC which highlighted various opportunities,
structural bottlenecks and inappropriate utilization of CPEC. He further said, China is a time-tested friend
of Pakistan. We could not restrict commercial presence of Chinese here. Proper enforcement and
implementation of CPEC is our responsibility while government and military establishment role in this
regards in highly significant.

On the occasion, SAARC Chamber Vice President Iftikhar Ali Malik said that it was a great opportunity
for Pakistan which should be fully utilized as it was meant to provide economic advantage, a land route to
China and integration with different nations.

“The total funding offered by China to Pakistan under the CPEC is USD 46 billion of which USD 34.4
billion has been allocated for the energy sector to add over 17000 MW to the national grid, while USD 9.8
billion will be made available for transport related projects and USD 0.8 billion for Gwadar Port,” he
explained.

He said that Pakistanis had the most favorable view of China and maintaining close relations with China
was a central part of Pakistan’s foreign policy. “China has supported Pakistan through thick and thin, and
its support has always remained without strings,” he concluded.

Maximising benefits of the economic

corridor
The China-Pakistan one-belt one-corridor project is by far the most
ambitious mega project that Pakistan has undertaken in its 68 years of
existence with its closest strategic and economic partner China. It has been
described as a game changer and transformational with huge political and
economic expectations linked to it. How far are these realistic and how
much is just hype? Is Pakistan as serious as China in executing the project?
Despite the broad consensus that exists among all provinces and political
parties about the usefulness of the economic corridor, are they coordinating
and cooperating with the federal government in its planning and execution?
Is the focus of the prime minister and his cabinet still intact?

Indeed, it would be a great misfortune if the Pakistani leadership fails to

maximise the benefits from this project. From the concept stage to the
development of the plan to its execution and then subsequent upkeep and
maintenance, Pakistan’s engineers, technicians, workers, contractors,
project managers can upgrade their technological and managerial
capabilities by closely associating with the Chinese. We expect the
government considers it a great opportunity for learning and acquiring skills
and has a monitoring system of ensuring its compliance, otherwise it will be
relegated to the status of a turnkey project.

The Chinese are engaged in broadening the existing Karakoram Highway

(KKH), from the existing 10m width to 30m. This will facilitate the flow of
heavy traffic throughout the year, which is expected to increase on the
completion of the CPEC. It will also contribute towards enhancing China’s
trade and economic activity with Central and West Asia. From the Pakistani
perspective, the Gwadar port will be a great asset for Balochistan as it will
facilitate and expedite its development. For China, it will be the shortest
route to Malacca, the Straits of Hormuz and the Indian Ocean.

Pakistan’s primary focus at present is to develop strong links with China

and using these for improving the socioeconomic conditions of the broad
underprivileged classes. But opportunities exist also to develop additional
links to neighbouring countries. In the past, Iran had offered Pakistan land
access to Central Asia and Russia, and in return expected Pakistan to
provide access to China through KKH. With India developing Iran’s
Chabahar port and connecting it with a road network to Afghanistan, this
opens up opportunities for countries of the region to complement rather than
confront one another. The Chinese are not very comfortable in giving the
project an exaggerated geopolitical perspective and would rather highlight
the economic and commercial benefits of it. This is a prudent approach and
Pakistan, too, should lay greater emphasis on the socioeconomic aspect and
opening up of Balochistan and interior Sindh, the most underdeveloped
parts of the country. Being a national project that involves practically the
whole of Pakistan, it should aim at improving the lot of the common person.

The involvement of the private sector in the programme by both countries

would be highly beneficial. This will give a sense of participation and help
in the dissemination of technologies and managerial skills on a broader
scale. As the programme proceeds, efforts should be made to extend
cooperation in other sections of the Chinese and Pakistani societies. This
should attract investment from China and international investors. For
Pakistani businessmen directly or in partnership with Chinese or foreign
partners, this presents a unique opportunity to invest in the country.

As the CPEC proceeds, it should improve connectivity and growth that

could promote good governance provided Pakistan undertakes institutional
reforms and its political leadership wakes up from its slumber.

For Pakistan, the CPEC provides a great opportunity to strengthen its

economy, raise its strategic profile, and build capacity to work closely with
a rising world power. We need to grasp this moment with all dedication and
sincerity

CPEC to boost Pakistan GDP growth

to 7.5%
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is expected to add over 2 million direct and
indirect jobs to Pakistan's economy and boost the country's GDP growth rate to 7.5 percent,
says report released by a think-tank of South Asian Investors.

According to the report, the CPEC-related projects will create some 700,000 direct jobs
during the period 2015–2030 and raise its GDP growth rate to 7.5 percent, adding 2.5
percentage points to the country's current GDP growth rate of 5 percent.

An additional 1.4 million indirect jobs will be added in supply-chain and service sectors to
support the projects. An example of indirect jobs is the massive expansion in Pakistan's
cement production that will increase annual production capacity from 45 million tons to 65
million tons, according to a tweet by Bloomberg's Faseeh Mangi. Other indirect jobs will be
in sectors ranging from personal services to housing and transportation.

The CPEC will open doors to immense economic opportunities not only to Pakistan but will
physically connect China to its markets in Asia, Europe and beyond, according to the Deloitte
report.

Almost 80 percent of the China’s oil is currently transported from the Middle East through
the Strait of Malacca to Shanghai, (distance is almost 16,000 km and takes 2-3 months). With
Gwadar port in Pakistan becoming operational, the distance would reduce to less than 5,000
km. If all goes well and on schedule, of the 21 agreements on energy– including gas, coal and
solar energy– 14 will be able to provide up to 10,400 megawatts (MW) of energy by March
2018. According to China Daily, these projects would provide up to 16,400 MW of energy
altogether.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a game-changer for Pakistan. It will build power plants
and other infrastructure, boost Pakistan's GDP growth to 7.5 percent and add millions of new
jobs to bring prosperity to Pakistan.