ISLAMABAD: The 11th meeting of Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was held here in Islamabad through video link with both sides expressed satisfaction over the ongoing pace of work on projects under CPEC and proposed execution of several projects.
The meeting was co-chaired by Federal Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives, Prof Ahsan Iqbal and Vice Chairman National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC), China Mr Lin Nianxiu. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the CPEC has emerged as the topmost national priority of the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, said the minister in his welcome address.
During the meeting, the conveners of the Joint Working Groups (JWGs) on Energy, Transport Infrastructure, Gwadar, Socio-Economic Development, Security, Long-Term Planning of CPEC, Industrial Cooperation, International Cooperation, Science & Technology, and Agriculture Cooperation made a presentation, highlighting progress on their specific areas and the future plans of actions.
According to official handout issued after the meeting, the Minister highlighted three basic objectives in the 11th JCC which includes – the revival of CPEC, which has been revived since the incumbent government came into power in April this year. The inclusion of new projects, which will increase the CPEC’s portfolio and third was Business to Business cooperation, which was earlier based on Government to Government.
The JCC was organized keeping in view the important visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif scheduled to begin from November 1, 2022 in which all important MoUs will be signed formally, said the minister, while briefing the media after the JCC.
It is important to mention here that Ahsan Iqbal has honored to co-chaired the first 7 meeting of the JCC.
According to officials, during the JCC meeting the government of Pakistan has made a number of new proposals, on which agreements are expected to be completed shortly which includes: Post Disaster Reconstruction; Global Development Initiatives: Strengthening of Digital Investment in Economy and arrangements for SEZs; Agreement between Geological Survey Intuitions of the two countries and Cooperation to develop export potential of Pakistan
Similarly, the framework agreement on Single Window Cooperation in inland trade was also proposed. Pakistan also proposed a mechanism for a new area of Water Resources Management and Climate Change under the CPEC framework, considering the enhanced vulnerability of Pakistan to climate Change events.
Pakistan also assured Chinese counterparts to continue beefing up security of Chinese working on CPCE projects and in this regard several initiatives have been taken. Both sides agreed to expand their cooperation in Information Technology and it was decided that Chinese companies will establish research centres in Pakistan to explore new avenues in this sector.
The upcoming visit of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif will be significant especially at a time when President Xi Jinping of China has been elected for a third term as China leader, ” said the minister, while reiterating that the incumbent government has revived the CPEC which remained neglected in the past.
The JCC also highlighted significance of key projects for energy and infrastructure development, which are now operational and providing a myriad of opportunities for socio-economic development in Pakistan.
These projects include, two 660 MW Port Qasim Power Plants, two 660 MW Sahiwal Power Plant, two 330 MW Engro Thar Power Plants; 50 MW Hydro China Dawood Wind Farm Thatta and 1000 MW Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, Bahawalpur.
Similarly, in Infrastructure projects, KKH Phase-II (Havelian – Thakot Section), Peshawar-Karachi Motorway (Multan-Sukkur Section), Hakla-DI Khan Motorway and Orange Line Metro Train – Lahore have been completed.
The meeting was informed by the Ministry of Energy that 11 projects of over 6370 MW capacity have been completed, along with an HVDC Transmission Line of 880 km, adding that three more projects of around 1200 MW are expected to be completed during 2023-24.
It was also informed that another 3100 MW which have achieved 90% milestones for FC (700 MW Azad Pattan HPP, 1124MW Kohala Hydel Project and 1320 MW Thar Coal Block-I), are finalized at the earliest so as to get closer to the envisaged target of 17000 MW.
The project in Motorways & Highways of around 888 Km was also highlighted which has been constructed with both Chinese and local financing (another 853 under construction through local financing). The KKH-Thakot-Havelian, one of the flagship projects of this sector, has received international recognition.
Similarly, another priority project, the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) was discussed at length which will benefit a large segment of the population of the largest city of Pakistan. The Sindh Government has revised the project documents and its internal processing by GoP is being completed. The project is proposed to be implemented under G2G arrangement on the lines of Lahore Orange Line Metro Train Project (OLMTP). “We have fulfilled all the formalities to initiate this project as Cabinet also approved it,” said the minister, while highlighting significance of the project which will have a great positive impact on Pakistan’s economy.
Both sides also agreed to start the ML-1 project which was considered to be the backbone of the CPEC and remained neglected in the past. It was agreed to include a new area of “Water Resource Management and Climate Change which will have great importance especially after the recent flood which badly affected Pakistan.
Similarly, both sides agreed to explore new avenues in the mining sector and it was decided to set up a new working group to explore the sector.
The Pakistani Government has also launched an initiative to include 10,000 MW of Solar energy in the system as the government has requested China to create a financing window or a credit line for Chinese companies participating in this project.
The cooperation in agriculture sector was also discussed at length during the 11th JCC, which is one of the essential elements of the second phase of CPEC. Pakistan has finalized some agreements to promote export of Pakistani agricultural items to China which needs to substantially enhance the scope and scale of these products. The Ministry of National Food Security has proposed an MoU on Cooperation in Plant & Animal Quarantine and Phytosanitary Measures, which will help pave the way for exports of meat, vegetables and fruits to China. It is an important initiative and needs to be finalized urgently.
