Communication sector: China to strengthen co-operation with Pakistan, CAS

China has prepared a plan strengthening its co-operation with Pakistan and the Central Asia States in communication sector.
China has decided to build a cross-country road, linking Shanghai with Horgos, a land port of Kazakhstan, which will also connect other neighbouring countries, said Feng Zhenglin, China's Vice-Minister of Communications.
This is a part of overall plan to construct another Silk Road. It will include the world's longest tunnel with a length of 16 km. Completion of the project will gear up trade and tourism among the Central Asian as well as the neighbouring countries.
China is also engaged in trans-border road construction along the ancient Silk Road. A 959-km road is designed to start from China's Kashi and extend westward to Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, via Kyrgyzstan.
"It is also a part of the Asian road network of the United Nations."
"We have made transportation co-operation the priority on the agenda," Feng said, adding, "we will also host the Third International Silk Road Conference in October 2004 in Xi'an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road."
TRANSPORT PACTS: China has already inked a number of transport pacts with Central Asian countries, such as Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
China is negotiating with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan on road construction and planning to build a road linking China with Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Iran.
It has also decided implementing an agreement on May 15 allowing Pakistani vehicles to pass through its territory for Central Asian States.
Initially, the transit facility will be available for Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Permits would be issued to vehicles according to the procedure laid down in the transit agreement, which was signed in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, this week.
PERMITS: Feng told APP that the necessary permits will be issued to the vehicles for the transit transportation, according to the procedure laid down in the agreement.
The four countries had agreed that Pakistan would be responsible for printing the permits for transit transport vehicles and the other three countries would provide stamps of the permits to Pakistan.
Each of the four countries will get 200 permits for this year before April 30, according to the agreement.
The four sides also agreed that the size of transport vehicle will not be longer than 20 meters, no more than 2.55 meters wide and no more than four meters high, with a dead weight of no more than 38 tons.
Special permits will be issued for transporting huge items that cannot be disassembled. Transit vehicles will be exempted from fees for passing through the territory of other countries, and fees for road maintenance.
Other fees, such as those charged for passing bridges and tunnels, will be charged according to the practice of each of the four countries.