Daily Times

Chairman China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Lt. General (retired) Asim Saleem Bajwa has rejected the impression that the pace of CPEC related projects has slowed down.

On a social media website Twitter, Bajwa dismissed the impression, adding that the pace of CPEC scope has actually enhanced.

He further said, “Some detractors giving a false impression of CPEC being slowed. He said not the only pace of work on projects picked up recently, a great deal of groundwork done to launch phase-2,” Bajwa added.

He said, “Not only pace of work on projects picked up recently, a great deal of groundwork done to launch phase-2.”

Bajwa, who is also the special assistant to the prime minister on information and broadcasting, said that the scope of CPEC has actually been enhanced as work on hydropower projects, special economic zones (SEZs) and agriculture is also being done.

The Pakistan Economic Survey 2019-20, the country’s annual economic survey, has said that nine SEZs will be established under the CPEC portfolio, which will create tremendous job opportunities and technological transformation.

Work on CPEC projects, with the help of China, is in full swing, said the economic survey.

Mainline-1 (ML-1) is an important project of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It entails a complete infrastructure overhaul of the 1,680 km railway tracks from Karachi to Peshawar.

After the upgrade, the speed of trains is expected to increase from 65 to 105 km/h to 120-160 km/h, which will cut the travel time between the two cities to half.

In 2018, the Ministry of Railways and the National Railway Administration of China (NRAC) had undertaken initial work for working on Pakistan Railways’ Mainline 1 (ML-1).