China-Pakistan Economic

Corridor (CPEC)
Coverage of China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) a mega
project of USD 45+ billion between Pakistan and China. Learn
about the Economic Corridor CPEC with latest news, updates and
wiki information on Pakistan Times.

China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) is a mega project of USD

46 billion taking the bilateral relationship between Pakistan and
China to new heights. The project is the beginning of a journey of

prosperity of Pakistan and Chinas Xinjiang. The economic corridor

is about 3000 Kilometers long consisting of highways, railways and
pipelines that will connect Chinas Xinjiang province to rest of the
world through Pakistans Gwadar port.
It is no secret that Pak-China bilateral relations have been strong
since the beginning. Pak-China economic corridor is the latest
megaproject between these two countries which will help to connect
the port city Gwadar to the Chinese region Xinjiang. This project will
help to strengthen the relationship between two countries and will also
bring prosperity to the region. Pakistan has been in constant attack
from certain terrorist elements and such initiatives will help the
country to start its journey towards stability. This megaproject will be
of 3000 KM and both countries will be connected through highways,
railways and pipelines.
The ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (Chinese: -
; Urdu: -), often referred to by the

acronym CPEC, is a collection of projects currently under construction

at a cost of $46 billion,[1] intended to rapidly expand and upgrade
Pakistani infrastructure as well as deepen and broaden economic links
between Pakistan and the People's Republic of China.[2] The corridor is
considered to be an extension of China's ambitious One Belt, One Road
initiative,[3] and the importance of CPEC to China is reflected by its
inclusion as part of China's 13th five-year development plan.[4][5]
Pakistani officials predict that the project will result in the creation of
upwards of 700,000 direct jobs between 20152030, and add 2 to 2.5
percentage points to the country's annual economic growth. [6] Were all
the planned projects to be implemented, the value of those projects
would be equal to all foreign direct investment in Pakistan since 1970,

and would be equivalent to 17% of Pakistan's 2015 gross domestic

product.[8]
[7]

Infrastructure projects under the aegis of CPEC will span the length
and breadth of Pakistan, and will eventually link the city of Gwadar in
southwestern Pakistan to China's northwestern autonomous region
of Xinjiang via a vast network of highways and railways.[9] Proposed
infrastructure projects are worth approximately $11 billion, and will be
financed by heavily-subsidized concessionary that will be dispersed to
the Government of Pakistan by the Exim Bank of China, China
Development Bank, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.[10]
As part of the broad package of infrastructure projects under CPEC,
a 1,100 kilometre long motorway will be constructed between the cities
of Karachi and Lahore,[11] while theKarakoram
Highway between Rawalpindi and the Chinese border will be completely
reconstructed and overhauled.[7] The KarachiPeshawar main railway
line will also be upgraded to allow for train travel at up to 160
kilometers per hour by December 2019.[12][13] Pakistan's railway network
will also be extended to eventually connect to Chinas
Southern in Kashgar.[14] A network of pipelines to transport liquefied
natural gas and oil will also be laid as part of the project, including a
$2.5 billion pipeline between Gwadar and Nawabshah to eventually
transport gas from Iran.[15]
Over $33 billion worth of energy infrastructure are to be constructed
by private consortia to help alleviate Pakistan's chronic energy
shortages,[16] which regularly amount to over 4,500MW,[17] and have
shed an estimated 2-2.5% off Pakistan's annual gross domestic
product.[18] Over 10,400MW of energy generating capacity is to be
developed between 2018 and 2020 as part of the corridor's fast-

tracked "Early Harvest" projects in conjunction with four projects

under construction prior to the announcement of CPEC.[19] Electricity
from these projects will primarily be generated by coal, though wind
projects are included under CPEC, as is the construction of one of the
world's largest solar energy plants.