Daily Times

Developing amicable relations with China has always been a common perception in Pakistan that transcends all political differences and enjoys a high degree of agreement. Both countries have maintained the momentum of close high-level exchanges, strengthened strategic communication and jointly led the direction of China-Pakistan relations. The month of May 2023 marks the 72nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China. Diplomatic relations were established on May 21, 1951. The friendship between the two countries has maintained an upward trajectory over the past seven decades. These relations had grown from strength to strength and matured into an unbreakable, all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.

In this regard, two news reports have surfaced in local and international media, according to which, the Chinese FM will travel to Pakistan in the fourth week of May for strategic dialogue after he concludes his Myanmar and India visit. In a move that would reduce its dependence on Western trade, China has proposed its most expensive Belt & Road Initiative (BRI), worth around $58 billion, which would connect its western part with Pakistan through a railway system. The state-owned China Railway First Survey and Design Institute Group Co Ltd. analysts examined the $57.7 billion proposal and found that, despite its heavy price tag, the investment is worthwhile.

A transportation corridor is generally a linear tract of land that contains lines of transportation like highways, railways, or canals.

A transportation corridor is generally a linear tract of land that contains lines of transportation like highways, railways, or canals. In the case of Pakistan, transportation corridors are characterized by domestic, as well as regional, connectivity with neighbouring countries, which can facilitate the trade and movement of passengers. Consequently, connectivity is now a significant trend in modern economies.

The oldest transport corridors for regional connectivity, which existed for centuries, include Khyber Pass from Peshawar to Kabul, Afghanistan and Bolan Pass from Quetta to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Historically, these transport corridors were mainly trade and economic corridors. Another trade corridor towards the west of Pakistan connected Quetta with Iran. Towards the east, Pakistan was well connected with India through rail and roads in at least four locations. The British rulers of the subcontinent developed the corridors to the west of Pakistan mainly due to geo-strategic considerations. A railway link was established from Peshawar to Torkham at the Pak-Afghan border while another was established from Quetta to Chaman again at the Pak-Afghan border. A railway line was also laid from Quetta to Zahidan, Iran.

The states to the west and north-west of Pakistan including Afghanistan and the Central Asian States are landlocked states. They do not have sea ports and transportation of freight is mainly through land routes. Owing to this factor, various cooperation organizations were established for the development of trade and transport corridors including ECO, SCO, CAREC and lastly CPEC.

For the last four decades, the instability in Afghanistan had serious impacts on Pakistan’s society and politics. However, China became the main hope for Pakistan to overcome its problems including relieving her from the energy crisis, provision of better transportation via rail & road, creating additional jobs and triggering economic growth.

Pakistan’s regional policy constitutes a framework based on the opportunities for Central Asia, and Middle East energy resources along with job opportunities in Gulf countries, instability and violence resulting from the Afghanistan war and the potential of military conflict with India. Presently, regional connectivity is more focused on CPEC. Pakistan needs a better and more modern transport infrastructure as the benefits in the field of construction of infrastructure and its economic benefits after completion are quite impressive.

As per Pakistan National Transport Policy (NTP) 2018, the transport sector comprises four dimensions including Users, Modes, Domains and Attributes. Users include both passengers and freight operators; Modes include road, railways, aviation, ports, pipelines and waterways; Domains include domestic and cross border; while Attributes include infrastructure, operations, regulations, technology, financial and institutional. The vision of the National Transport Policy (NTP) is to create an integrated multi-modal transport sector in Pakistan. Under the policy, the Road sector has been identified as a key provider of local accessibility and connectivity. The aviation sector has been entrusted with the task to connect Pakistan with international markets and cater to long-distance (>1000 km) domestic travel. Railways have been recognized as the preferred mode for intercity passenger travel whose primary role is to provide long-haul freight services between industrial zones and ports. NTP also emphasizes the promotion of inter-regional connections for freight and passengers through railways.

Rail transport has a lot of advantages over road transport. Rail transport can be cost-effective as shippers who convert long-haul freight from road to rail can save 10-40%. Rail has lower fuel costs compared to road transport, especially when shipping a high volume of freight. On average, the railway transports 165 ton-km of freight volume per litre of fuel as compared to 60.3 ton-km per litre for road transport.

Shipping via train is more environmentally friendly. Trains burn less fuel per ton mile than trucks. According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), freight railroads can move one ton of freight an average of 479 miles on a single gallon of fuel. On top of that, using rail transport over road transport can lower greenhouse gas emissions by 75%. Trains are capable of hauling large loads. Trains can handle high volumes of freight. One double-stacked train can hold approximately the same amount as 280 trucks. It is used to haul heavy payloads of 20-40 tonnes per axle as compared to eight tonnes per axle for the road.

(To be Continued)

The writer works at a public policy think tank and can be reached at saudzafar5@gmail.com.