Daily Times

Economy is the backbone of development and progress of a country. Pakistan is a developing country; therefore, economic stability is the first step to climb the ladder of success. Gladly, Pakistan is one of the “Next Eleven” – the group of eleven countries – that along with the BRICS, has the potential to become one of the world’s largest economies in the 21st century.

Where Pakistan is blessed with natural resources, vast agricultural lands, huge energy reservoirs and strong human resource, it needs reforms to harness its potential. The need of the hour is to make the best out of these resources through series of planned activities and projects.

The government of Pakistan has been making hectic efforts to advance in the field of agriculture, health, education, infrastructure, information and technology. Recently, Pakistan has contributed a lion’s share to socio-economic development and growth of the country by turning the dream of China Pakistan Economic Corridor into reality.

The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a collection of projects intended to rapidly expand and upgrade Pakistani infrastructure, as well as deepen and broaden economic links between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People’s Republic of China. The CPEC is currently under construction at a cost of $46 billion, which will revolutionise the infrastructure, trade, and industry and energy sector in the land of pure.

CPEC plan is divided into four parts. First of all it will set up the most modern port of Gwadar, which would increase our trade manifold; Gwadar will be all rebuilt with a hospital, new drinking water supply and an international airport. In such a scenario, Balochistan will win a substantial share in economic development.

Secondly, CPEC will strengthen the energy sector by adding more than 10,400MW to the system. Over $33 billion worth of energy infrastructure are to be constructed by private consortia to help alleviate Over 10,400MW of energy generating capacity is to be developed between 2018 and 2020 as part of the corridor’s fast-tracked “Early Harvest” projects in conjunction with four projects under construction prior to the announcement of CPEC.

The Financial Times and World Bank claim that Pakistan’s electricity shortages are a major hindrance to foreign investment, and that Chinese investments in Pakistani infrastructure and power projects will lead to a “virtuous cycle” that will make the country more attractive for foreign investment in a variety of sectors.

CPEC is a historic project. For countries with different social systems and ideologies that want to collaborate with each other, the China-Pakistan relationship has become a model to follow. It has revived the true sense of friendship, good will and mutual coordination. After the success of “One Belt, One Road” initiative, the CPEC has enlarged bilateral strategic and cooperative partnership to a more comprehensive framework. Both countries hold great love and respect for each other’s interests and situations.

There have been speculations that CPEC will prove more beneficial to China than Pakistan but in reality both countries will equally benefit from this monument of the century. CPEC is a win-win situation; it will help both China and Pakistan to grow economically. It is believed that two heads are better than one and surely China and Pakistan can achieve the goal of prosperity, cooperation and development together.

CPEC will prove a game changer for Pakistan. It has been predicted by the officials that CPEC will create more or less 700,000 direct jobs between 2015 and 2030, and is eventually going to add 2 to 2.5 percentage points to the country’s annual economic growth. In case, all the planned projects are implemented as per plan, then the value of those projects would be equal to all foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan since 1970 and would be equivalent to 17% of Pakistan’s 2015 Gross Domestic Product.

The investment of $46 billion by China in CPEC is very positive for Pakistan. As a sign of its important place in the overall strategy, the CPEC was the first project to receive an investment from China’s $40 billion Silk Road Fund, providing partial financing for the $1.65 billion Karot Hydropower project in Pakistan.

It shows that Chinese government truly aims at helping Pakistan in its hard time. China has established partnerships with a lot of countries in the world, but Pakistan is the only one that is called an “all-weather strategic cooperation partner”. The importance of CPEC to China is reflected by its inclusion as part of China’s 13th five-year development plan.

The project of CPEC is being carried out by the best manufacturers and designers of China and Pakistan. Frontier Works Organization which is an administrative branch of the Pakistan Army has been involved with the construction of bridges, roads, tunnels, airfields and dams in Pakistan, on the orders of the civilian government of Pakistan, according to a Reuters report.

The Pakistan military chief, General Raheel Sharif, has assured good security of CPEC. To this effect, a strong and dedicated force of 15,000 personnel is already in place under the ambit of Special Security Division to keep a close watch at every step.

Luckily, Pakistan’s military and civilian political leaderships including ruling and opposition parties seem on one page, giving strength to this idea that projects under CPEC would be completed at all costs irrespective of any political divide that may exist in this country.

Where CPEC will create job opportunities it will also help curb the menace of terrorism, as people will grow more prosperous. With empty bellies, people get more vulnerable and subject to extreme behaviour. “If you create economic activity and give them a reason to live, if you give them a better tomorrow than yesterday, people tend to be more peaceful.”

The economic corridor will pave a path of economic stability, prosperity and progress for China and Pakistan. The way to turn our economy around is not by making rich people poorer, it’s by making poor people richer and CPEC is the best possible option we have. CPEC will bring positive economic and social change in the region. CPEC is a shared destiny of China and Pakistan and its success will guarantee the welfare and prosperity of both countries. Let’s hope that this project gets completed soon and we all witness Pakistan emerging as an economically stable and prosperous homeland.