China Railway Construction Corp team wins bid for Pakistan highway

The company said that its unit, China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co, and Zahir Khan & Brothers Engineers & Constructors won the bid to build a 1,152 km section of a highway between Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan.

Earlier this year, Pakistan and China signed energy and infrastructure deals worth $46 billion, under the framework of what is called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

As part of the agreements, China will get a free trade zone in Pakistan’s Gwadar port and access to the Indian Ocean. New Pakistani roads will also open up routes for Chinese goods into Europe and the Middle East, though details and financing of many of the deals remain unclear.

China and Pakistan call each other “all-weather friends” and share close business, diplomatic and security ties.