CPEC Generates 155,000 Local Jobs

News Desk

Beijing: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has created over 155,000 local jobs for Pakistani people and has achieved fruitful results, including the Gwadar Port and relevant cooperation projects in energy, infrastructure, and industry, said China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Marking its 10th anniversary this year, “CPEC has played an important role in bilateral cooperation between China and Pakistan,” stated NDRC.

“In particular, a number of highway construction programmes are moving along as planned. Nearly one-third of Pakistan’s national electricity demand is met by power plants that have entered commercial operation, changing the country’s power scarcity status,” the NDRC added.

China and Pakistan jointly built the Gwadar Port, which has made significant strides towards developing a regional logistical hub and industrial base.

In addition, the first phase of the Rashakai Special Economic Zone in Pakistan has been built, and it has been successful in luring business, according to the NDRC.

By the end of 2022, the CPEC will have generated 236,000 jobs, of which 155,000 are Pakistani workers. The NDRC promised to enhance cooperation in the agricultural, mining, and technological sectors as well as in the transportation, energy, and industrial sectors and areas connected to people’s livelihoods.

In order to expand the influence of the CPEC, the foreign ministers of China, Afghanistan, and Pakistan have agreed to extend the programme to Afghanistan to further advance cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

As a landlocked country, Afghanistan mainly relies on Pakistani ports for international trade. Afghanistan has become the first among landlocked Central Asian countries to benefit from using the Chinese-invested Gwadar Port in Pakistan for future cross-border trade.

According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, the Gwadar Port finally obtained an e-export trade licence with Afghanistan in the second half of 2019 after several rounds of consultations with relevant authorities in Pakistan.

In 2020, Afghanistan imported 43,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser via the port, contributing to its agricultural development.