A national seminar on the geographical importance of the China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its impact on the national economy was held at the Shah Abdul Latif University here on Wednesday.
Physical Sciences Faculty Dean Prof Dr Mumtaz Hussain Mahar presided over the one-day seminar, organised by the Department of Geography.
Addressing the seminar, he said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a revolution in the field of finance adding that under the CPEC, China would invest 46 billion in various areas including the transportation and energy sectors.
Prof Dr Ahsanullah Khattak presented his paper, “CPEC: Prospects and Constraints” and said that the China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative covered countries and regions with a total population of 4.4 billion and a total economic volume of US$ 21 trillion.
The CPEC has been the foundation for regional cooperation, improving economic growth, offering trade diversifications, investing in transportation, mining and energy sectors and creating political flexibility.
The completion of the Gwadar would make it the economic hub of Balochistan and create a strategic nexus between Pakistan, China and Central Asia, generating billions in revenue and providing shorter land routes up to approximately 10000 km.
It would provide links from the Caspian Sea to the Strait of Hormuz to enable Gwadar to compete with the Persian Gulf ports.
The prospects of the mega project are the diverse investment opportunities, industrial cooperation, financial cooperation, agricultural cooperation, tourism, educational linkage, human resource development and health Care.
The CPEC project also calls for the construction of railways to connect Gwadar Port to Pakistan’s railway system at Jacobabad, with eventual construction of a railway line all the way to China’s Xinjiang province 3,000 kilometres away via the proposed Khunjerab Railway.
A 300 million rupee study to establish the feasibility of constructing the 682-kilometre rail line between Havelian and the Chinese border is already underway.Noor Hussain Department of Geography Incharge Chandio welcomed the audience and highlighted the significance of geography of Pakistan and remarked that Pakistan is a junction of the world economy and frontline state against the terrorism.
Prof Dr Taj Muhammad Lashari, Prof Dr Amir Ali Chandio, Shahida Amir Chandio, Sarfraz Korejo, Professor Liaquat Ali Chandio, Mumtaz Bukhari and a large number of teachers and students attended the seminar.