- Experts express concerns, fear about CPEC after PM’s removal
- Officials say ex-PM developed foolproof mechanisms for project
Though former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has been championing to be the architect of much-talked-about China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the change of the chief executive would have no negative impact on the project.
Some experts have been expressing concerns and fears about the progress of the CPEC after removal of Nawaz Sharif. However, officials dealing with the corridor projects said that the former prime minister had developed such foolproof mechanisms that his removal won’t have any impact on the multi-billion-dollar project.
China also said that the change in Pakistan won’t affect the CPEC progress. “We believe that our strategic cooperative partnership will not be affected by the change inside Pakistan. China stands ready to work with Pakistan to continue jointly building the Belt and Road and build a community of shared future, which serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples and promotes peace and development,” a spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
China is investing around $59 billion in Pakistan for its various projects of the CPEC ranging from energy projects like dams, coal and atomic power plants to infrastructure involving roads, railways, ports and industrial clusters including free economic zones. The 2017 is called the take-off year for the CPEC as 19 out of the 39 early harvest projects have either been complete or already are in an advance stage with an estimated cost of $19 billion already spent.
In an exclusive talk with Pakistan Today, Project Director for Development Communication at Planning & Development Ministry Mohammad Asim Khan said that the change of the prime minister would have no impact at all on smooth execution of the different energy and infrastructure projects under the CPEC framework since the two countries have evolved an institutionalised mechanism for the project monitoring and implementation.
“There would be no impact if the ruling party remains the same. This project reflects the vision of Nawaz Sharif and his party would ensure smooth progress of the project. Former planning minister Ahsan Iqbal has worked days and nights to make sure swift implementation of the CPEC projects,” he said.
Asked what mechanisms were in place to ensure smooth function on the CPEC projects, Asim said that Pakistan was taking a lead in implementing CPEC. “We have a very strong communication and project management mechanism comprising of representatives and focal persons of the 16 line ministries and autonomous bodies. This is called a communication and project management mechanism,” he added.
Under this mechanism, every month a detailed progress review meeting was chaired by Ahsan Iqbal where all the line ministries, top Chinese officials present in Pakistan and Deputy Chief of Mission from China Embassy Zhao Lijian attends it, he said.
He said the Ministry of Planning, Development & Reform being focal point and flag bearer of CPEC share these progress reports with the relevant stakeholders and departments of the government, including the Prime Minister’s Office and officials of the China Embassy and the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) on regular basis.
“We share not only the progress reviews but also discuss ways and means to further enhance our cooperation for timely completion of these projects overcoming all hurdles, if any,” he added. Asim said that it was satisfactory to note that Shehbaz Sharif is going to take over as the next prime minister of the country as he has been associated with the CPEC since long.
“Shehbaz Sharif has been looking after those energy projects which are specifically negotiated by the Punjab government and were made part of the CPEC framework,” he added. The official said that the minutes of each progress review meeting were shared with all the stakeholders. Moreover, he said these reports were also sent to PMDU (Prime Minister Delivery Unit) established at the PM office.
The PMDU headed by a specially designated project coordinator and a senior joint secretary, he said. “The prime minister regularly takes monthly presentation on the status of projects,” he added. Of the total 51 projects, Balochistan has won a lion’s share with 16 projects closely followed by Sindh which has bagged 13 ventures. Punjab has bagged 12 projects while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also got a good number of the projects which is eight.
Two CPEC projects are in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu Kashmir. According to the official documents, out of the 19 early harvest projects already completed or in advanced stage, 11 are in energy sector while others are related to transport and infrastructure. The CPEC also attracts foreign and local investments in the fields of high-capacity industrial units; factory–market road transportation and distribution services; rail-supported bulk transit of goods; dry ports along the CPEC routes; and storage facilities for transit food & goods.
Investors may also contribute in building storage facilities around Gwadar Port, while storage facilities around the Havelian dry port and Gwadar International Airport; rest houses across the CPEC route and Gwadar International Airport; restaurants business across the CPEC route and around other project sites; taxi-services at the airport, seaports and dry ports also await attraction of financiers.
The experts believe that the cost of labour in China is rising fast which may compel many Chinese companies to relocate their industry to Pakistan due to low costs, business free policies of Pakistan and secure environment. Relocation of the textiles is being planned from China to Pakistan.