CPEC made Pakistan most visible part of BRI: PM Abbasi

DAVOS: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday said that China’s Belt and Road Initiative would link together a number of countries, regions and civilizations and will result in shared prosperity.

Speaking during the  ‘Belt and Road Impact’ debate of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Prime Minister said BRI is physical manifestation of the bonds between countries that existed through history and Pakistan today is most visible part of the BRI because of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The premier said projects under the initiative include power plants, highways, modernization of railways and ports, construction of airports and setting up of economic zones for export growth.

He said results of CPEC related projects have already started appearing as our cement plants used 56 percent additional capacity and exports grew by fifteen percent.

The PM maintained that CPEC is also boosting confidence of other investors and Pakistan is getting a lot of investment after CPEC.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said key principles of CPEC projects are financial sustainability and lessening of environmental impact and apart from financial sustainability, these projects are indicative of Pakistan being a more responsible global citizen as far as environment is concerned.

He said despite all power plants coming in including those based on coal, the overall impact on the environment would be positive as Pakistan is replacing the less efficient power plants, He said the government is guarding against projects becoming white elephants and is striving hard for optimum utilization of resources.

Answering a question by the host of the session, the Prime Minister said with the development of ports and highways, Pakistan can provide much more efficient connectivity to most of Central Asian countries, which are landlocked.

Other participants of the discussion including President of Asian Infrastructure Development Bank, Chairmen of China National Corporation and Chinese National Machinery Industry Corporation and representatives from the US and Russia expressed the confidence that VRI will boost development in participating countries. They pointed out that the project touches 40% of global GDP.