China and Pakistan are scheduled to sign loan agreements next week on infrastructure projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The infrastructure projects will provide direct access for Chinese and East Asian goods to Pakistani seaports at Karachi and Gwadar. CPEC Co-ordinator and Project Director of Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms Major General Dr Zahir Shah (Retd) said this while talking to Business Recorder.
He said loan agreements would be signed for projects including Karakoram Highway Phase-2 (Thakot-Havelian) Project, Peshawar-Karachi Motorway (Multan-Sukkur) Project and others. He said work on those projects would start next month. The Project Director of Ministry of Planning said that a joint feasibility study of railway projects had also been completed by the concerned departments of the two countries. He said two countries had completed the break-up process of railway projects of Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar in different phases and PC-1s of the projects would be submitted to the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms for approval. He said work on railway projects would start next month (April). He added that China did not disburse funds prior to the completion of all necessary documentation.
Dr Zahir Shah said loan agreement would also be signed on Gwadar Port Eastbay Expressway project very soon and work on the project would start within the next two months. He said a Chinese technical team reached Pakistan on Tuesday and would visit New Gwadar International Airport and inspect and evaluate its system and submit its report to the aviation authority. Answering a question, he said work on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) was continuing and Pakistan had given names of 29 SEZs to China which would be established under CPEC.
According to Economic Affairs Division (EAD), China has disbursed only $11.24 million for one project "Construction of Cross Boarder Optical Fiber Cable System" under CPEC so far. The sources said China Exim Bank (China Export Import Bank) would extend assistance to Pakistan at 1.6 percent interest rate for infrastructure projects under CPEC. The rail sector projects include expansion and reconstruction of existing Line ML-1 (Main Line from Peshawar to Karachi), 1736km, $3.65 billion and Havelian Dry port, 450 Million Units, $40 million.
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