Planning and Development (P&D) Department Chairman Jehanzaib Khan has said that setting up of power plants was not part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initially and China incorporated them in the project to ensure manufacturing needs in future.
"China had prepared a 30-page document on the energy needs of Pakistan and helped us to fix the problem out of their ability of implementation," he said. He was addressing a consultative workshop organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on supporting economic corridor development in Pakistan at a local hotel on Thursday.
Country Director ADB Ms Xiaohong Yang said that ADB has carried out a scoping study on the potential economic corridors in Pakistan, focusing on key aspects such as economics, institution and regulation, poverty and inclusivity, empirical data and diaspora role.
Findings from this study will contribute to the more comprehensive work under the proposed technical assistance on supporting economic corridors development (ECD) in Pakistan which is key for achieving Pakistan's growth aspiration of seven percent per year and in the context of maximizing the benefits for CPEC.
Chief Economist ADB Guntur Sugiyarto made a detailed presentation on the key findings from the scoping studies on ECD. The Chairman P&D said the corridor is to connect the region to ensure regional economic development. He appreciated the Chinese leadership for sharing its prosperity with regional countries under the One Belt One Road Project. "The CPEC is one corridor of this project," he added.
He said the CPEC would ensure economic cooperation, social and cultural collaboration and sustainability through motorways, railways, waterways, airways, pipelines and exchange of ideas. He expressed the hope that physical connectivity in the region would create jobs and upgrade infrastructure facilities. He said a new industrial policy by the Punjab government was under preparation with the help of China. "ADB can also chip in," he said.
Speaking on the occasion, former governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Dr Ishrat Hussain said Pakistan has a unique geo-strategic location between two economic giants, China and India and a gateway to the Central Asia. He said the ultimate objective of this physical connectivity is to maximize economic distribution through strong institutions, vibrant policies, regulations and incentives.
He pointed out that both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan needed to be integrated under the corridor to increase living standards there. He further added that due to extensive theft, leakage and corruption in irrigation, gas and electricity supplies Pakistan was losing one trillion rupees annually. It was equal to 3.5 percent GDP loss that leaves no room for Pakistan but to go to the IMF.
He said the factors like government failure, market failure and coordination failure has damaged institution building by and large. He stressed upon the policy clarity and a level-playing field for stakeholders to make the corridor a success story. "We should use the corridor as a prototype to change our institutions. Otherwise, it would be another white elephant in the country," he said.
Dr Nasir Javed, Dr Salman Shah, Syed Yawar Ali and Dr Ejaz Nabi also spoke on the occasion and put forward suggestions on how to benefit from the Corridor while tapping indigenous resources in short- and long-term.