ISLAMABAD: Ever since the catastrophic floods commenced in Pakistan, the All-Pakistan Chinese Enterprises’ Association (APCEA) has acted swiftly, and Chinese enterprises throughout Pakistan have responded readily and positively by collecting cash donations, donating tents and food, and repairing houses and other infrastructure to help the Pakistani people overcome the impacts of the disaster.
In the face of great disaster, the Chinese government aptly and swiftly responded by donating 400 million RMB to Pakistan for flood relief. Under the guidance of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Pakistan, Chinese companies have donated an amount of almost 260 million rupees to the various flood relief funds and efforts in Pakistan, a press release issued by APCEA here on Monday said.
To begin, on August 26, APCEA donated 15.5 million rupees to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund 2022. China Three Gorges South Asia Investment Ltd responded positively to the call and generously donated approximately US$650,000, the highest single donation of any Chinese company in Pakistan for flood relief. State Grid responded positively to the Pakistani Embassy in China by donating US$200,000.
State Grid’s investment project in Pakistan, Matiari-Lahore HVDC Transmission Project, allocated a special fund of five million PKR for special assistance to affected employees and food distribution to affected villagers around the project.
On September Ist, Metallurgical Corporation of China Ltd. donated US$250,000 in cash to the Balochistan government to support the flood relief in the province.
At the same time, Metallurgical Corporation of China ltd. organised its staff to make donations, donating a total of about 2 tonnes of relief materials to the local victims and received a letter of thanks from the local government.
Smartphone giant OPPO donated Rs 10 million to the Alkhidmat Foundation and set up flood relief camps at villages in Noshki, Gandaha and Thatta. Nearly 300 affected families were provided with temporary shelter, food, and medical assistance.
Chinese companies have donated tents, drinking water, food rations, medicine, and clothing to the affected villagers in the surrounding areas, with a cumulative total of over Rs. 120 million. On September 9, China National Nuclear Corporation donated a total of Rs 60 million worth of funds and disaster relief materials to the Pakistani government to support the flood relief causes in Pakistan.
Huaxin Resources Co., LTD, the developer of a block in the Thar coalfield, donated 200 tents, thousands of relief rations, and relief medicines to the affected villagers in the surrounding area, at a total cost of approximately Rs five million.
On September 13, Challenge Group delivered the much-needed relief supplies from Lahore to the D G Khan area, donating 2,100 items including mosquito nets, food, drinking water, clothing, and milk powder, worth approximately Rs 15 million.
Power China, which is executing the construction of the Diamer Basha Dam Project, was the first to organize on-site disaster relief after learning about the damage around the project and its site. Rescue teams were sent to operate excavators, bulldozers and other heavy machinery and equipment to help local villagers clear the collapsed sections and backfill the foundations of irrigation canals.
In the vicinity of the Suki Larrikin hydropower project in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, a swept away bridge by the flood was restored. In Sukkur district, Sindh, floods inundated farmland and swept away houses. China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd, which is carrying out maintenance work on the PKM highway (Sukkur-Multan section), organized personnel to immediately go to the affected area, to open up emergency access, and provide support for the transportation of relief supplies.
In the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, the Dasu Project Department of China Energy Engineering Group Company sent technicians and mechanical equipment to clear the fallen rocks on the road, excavate the mountain, fill in the roadbed and urgently repair the Karakorum Highway.
In order to prevent major disease outbreaks after the disaster, the Chinese companies have directed and organized for, the company’s medical teams to provide voluntary medical consultation and assistance for the affected people in the surrounding villages and provide free medication for treating and preventing illnesses like the dengue fever, malaria and influenza. The PKM project took rapid action to procure about 500 medical boxes of various types of medicinal drugs to treat post-disaster epidemics and organized medical teams to visit nearby villages to carry out free medical and pharmaceutical activities to help local villagers.
According to the statistics of the All-Pakistan Chinese Enterprises’ Association (APCEA), the total amount of donations from Chinese enterprises is currently around 400 million rupees. Chinese enterprises will continue to increase their support to the affected people in Pakistan.
Chinese enterprises in Pakistan have always adhered to the concept of “One Belt, One Road” and “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor”, have actively fulfilled their social responsibilities, responded to the call of the Chinese and Pakistani governments, and raised funds and materials for disaster relief.
