The administrative restructuring of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has kicked off in full swing, Gwadar Pro reported on Saturday.
In an expeditious step, CPEC Authority is being merged into CPEC Secretariat. With an incorporation process going in full swing, CPEC Secretariat that stayed inactive has been restored to function properly.
Its two wings – CPEC Support Project and CPEC Centre of Excellence – that were made non-operational are also likely to be resurrected. “CPEC Authority is being assimilated into CPEC Secretariat,” Ayesha Khan, official in the Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiative (PD &SI) told Gwadar Pro. “Managerial and administrative restructuring process is in the making. Within two or three days, a prolific picture will be clearly visible to figure out the scope and design of the new set-up and understand how the new changes will be incorporated and how they will be executed,” she added.
CPEC Authority, that remained headless for many months, got a new head after PML-Q MNA Chaudhry Salik Hussain becomes the new CPEC Authority chairman on April 22.
The Last CPEC authority chairman was Lieutenant General (retired) Asim Saleem Bajwa who took charge in November 2019 for four years. Amid controversy, he resigned on 3rd August, 2021. Since then, CPEC Authority remained without Chairman. Khalid Mansoor, former CEO of HUBCO, took charge as Special Assistant to Prime Minister on CPEC Affairs shortly.
Two days back, a meeting was held to take stock of CPEC Authority dysfunctionality and dormancy of Center of Excellence established in Pakistan Institutes Development Economics (PIDE). “The idea of the center was to conduct an empirical research which could help tap new opportunities,” said the Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal while directing Registrar PIDE to submit a complete action plan and their achievements. “We have little knowledge about the Chinese market, therefore, a quality research center is a dire need of time, particularly in the field of industrial cooperation,” he added.
Meanwhile, as ongoing CPEC bureaucratic and administrative overhaul is at full throttle, it is highly likely that many bodies formed by previous government to oversight CPEC progress will be abolished one by one.