China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which runs through Pakistanfrom the lofty Hargoolun Range in thenorth all the way south to the Arabian Sea along the southern boundary of the country, is bursting with vitality.
Under the CPEC, flatand straight roads, lively ports, green and clean energy projects as well as industrial parks in the pipeline have brought great changes to Pakistan.
Islar, a Pakistani trucker, always drives along the Karakoram Highway (KKH) PhaseII (Havelian-Thakot Section), a project built in Pakistan under the framework of the CPEC.
The road conveys people’s expectation of a good life, said Islar, who believes that it leads to both safety and prosperity.
In the past, the road between Havelian and Thakotwas a narrow, steep and accident-prone path windingamong the towering mountains in northwestern Pakistan. It took truckers nearly six hours to get to Thakot from Havelian.
The difficulty has been effectively solved by the 118-kilometer-long Havelian-Thakot highway. With 105 mainline bridges, 11 pedestrian bridges, 464 culverts and six tunnels built along its route, the wide and smooth highwayhas cut the one-way driving time to less than two hours, significantly increasing transportation safety and efficiency.
As the Sukkur-Multan section of the Peshawar-Karachi Motorway in Pakistan, also an infrastructure project along the CPEC, officially opened to traffic, the north-south traffic artery in central Pakistan was opened, and the transportation conditions of Multan, which is known for its mangoes, have been greatly improved.
The Sukkur-Multan motorway has shortened the time needed for mangoes to be transported from Multan to Sukkur from 11 hours to about 4 hours, substantially reducing the loss of agricultural products during transportation.
It has also helped Multan attract investments from companies. Since preparations for a highly anticipated fruit juice concentrateplant in the region have been started recently, local mango growers will no longer need to worry about the sale and transportation of their fruits.
The Gwadar Port, a flagship project of the CPEC, has witnessed new achievements.Since last year, the port has expanded its business scope, launching the Afghan cargo transit servicesystematically for the first time, providing liquefied petroleum gas-relatedservices for the first time and realizing commercial operation for the first time, infusing fresh impetus and vitality into local economic development.
Meanwhile, more CPEC projects concerning people’s well-being, including the New Gwadar International Airport and Gwadar hospital, are being advancedin an orderly manner.
The interconnection of transportation infrastructure has stimulated the internal vitality of Pakistan’s economy, society, and various fields concerningpeople’s well-being, noted Asad Umar, Pakistan’s Ministerfor Planning, Development and Special Initiatives.
Pakistan and China will strengthen cooperation to drive larger-scale investment in Pakistan and accelerate the development of Pakistan’s economy, he added.
Besides transportation infrastructure construction, China-Pakistan energy cooperation hasalso progressed rapidly under the CPEC in recent years, easing Pakistan’s development bottleneck triggered by power shortage and introducing new ideas, technologies and investments for Pakistan’s exploration of clean energy.
In the vast Gobi desert in southwestern Pakistan, arow of power transmission towers are extending into the distance.They are part of the ±660kVMatiari-Lahore high-voltage (HV) direct current (DC) transmission line, a CPEC project in Pakistan.
Adopting the world’s most advanced DC transmission technology, the project, which was officially put into commercial operation in September 2021, is a power transmission project with the highest voltage level, the largest transmission capacity and the longest transmission distance in Pakistan.
HammadAzhar,Energy Minister of Pakistan, believes that the project helps improve the stability and transmission capacity of Pakistan’s national grid and further boost the country’s power supply.
In November 2021, the Karot Hydropower Project in Pakistan, the first CPEC hydropower investment project, successfully closed the gates of the diversion tunnels and started reservoir impoundment, pavingthe way for the wet testing of the generator units.
“Over years of construction of the hydropower project, the surrounding mountains have become greener and waters clearer. The project has not only made our life more convenient, but effectively advanced ecological conservation,” said Haider, a relocated resident at the reservoir region of the hydropower project.
“Everyone is looking forward to the operation of the project as early as possible, and hopes that it can bring cleaner and cheaper electricity,” he said.
With the advances in the project, the lower reaches of the Jhelum River basin, where the hydropower station is located, will witness improvement in irrigation efficiency and shipping conditions as well as reduction in the frequency of floods and droughts.
Up to now, the total installed capacity of wind power projects completed under the framework of the CPEC has reached 300,000 kWh, and that of CPEC solar projects hasamounted to 400,000 kWh.
Meanwhile, the construction of the Karot Hydropower Project and the Suki Kinari Hydropower Project is proceeding steadily; and theKohala Hydropower Projecthas already completed the signing of four major franchise agreements and will begin construction soon.
During the planning, construction, and operation of CPEC projects, Chinese companies have actively recruited local people and promoted localizedmanagement of them. Relevant companies havenot only providedtechnical lectures and training courses for Pakistani employees, but also made efforts to strengthen communication betweenChinese employees andtheir Pakistani colleagues so as tohelp them understand each other better. Thanks to the efforts, a significant increase has been achieved in theirwork efficiency.
On Oct. 25, 2021, Nisar, a subway driver, steeredthe last trainof the day steadily into the platform, bringingthe first year of the operation of the Orange Line Metro Train project in Lahore city, Pakistan, to a perfect end.
“The Orange Line has changed the life of Lahore citizens, especiallymine. I’m really honored to bea cog in the machine, for which I must take on due responsibilities,” Nisar said.
Over the past year or so, the automated rapid transit linehas transported more than 20 million passengers and registered a cumulative mileage of more than 12 million kilometers.
In addition, a group of local transportation management talentsand technicians have continuously improvedtheir capabilities, becomingthe backbone force for the operation of the project.
As the CPEC construction enters a new stage of high-quality development, local talents that have acquired new skills are expected to better promote the construction of industrial parks and help build an industrial and manufacturing center for Pakistan, according to Khalid Mansoor, Special Assistant to the PakistaniPrime Minister on CPEC Affairs.
At present, Pakistan is making preparations for the construction of industrial parks in the country, including the Rashakai Special Economic Zone by leveraging theinfrastructure development and talent cultivation results under the CPEC framework. These industrial parks will certainly attract more foreign investment, create a large number of jobs for local people, and speed up Pakistan’s industrialization process, he pointed out.
