Under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Projects (CPEC), China has promised to invest around $11.8 billion in infrastructure projects and $33.8 billion in various energy projects which will be completed by 2017 at the latest. According to sources, the corridor is a 2,700-kilometre highway that would stretch from Kashghar to Gwadar through Khunjrab. The CPEC will integrate the economies of the two friendly countries; it envisages several economic zones.
The sources said the first phase involves development of Gwadar Port which received a major boost when control of Gwadar Port was transferred to China's state-owned China Overseas Ports Holding in February 2013. The construction of an international airport is also envisaged under the first phase of the CPEC. Senior official sources revealed that during meetings of the Joint Working Groups (JWG) in Beijing on August 24 and 25, China asked the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government to expedite its work on the Gwadar International Airport.
China has converted Rs 23 billion loans for Gwadar International Airport into a grant and extended an interest-free loan of Rs 13.5 billion for the construction of Gwadar East Bay Expressway. Member, Infrastructure and Regional Connectivity of Planning Commission confirmed that China has agreed to convert loans for the Gwadar International Airport into a grant and to extend an interest-free loan for the Gwadar East Bay Expressway; but added that the decision is not firm yet.
Sources added that it was also decided during the JWG meetings that the two major infrastructure projects would be completed by December 2017 - projects that are regarded as the catalyst that would enhance investment and development in Gwadar. The new Gwadar airport will be a modern airport of international standard and cater to the requirements of a bustling industrial commercial city. It will become a major hub for international flights operating in the region, sources said. The federal government has already completed the tendering process for East Bay Expressway and new Gwadar airport projects but the pace has been slow due to the required legal formalities. Since now China has taken up the responsibility for financing, things are expected to move at a much faster pace, sources revealed.
Pakistan and China have signed agreements for upgrading 1,300-kilometre Karakorum Highway connecting to Islamabad and laying a fibre-optic cable from the Chinese border to Rawalpindi. Sources said the Chinese government is dealing with Pakistan's military on a fibre-optic project and the two have already held a series of meetings. A meeting between the concerned military officers and the Prime Minister on this project is expected soon, sources added.
According to documents, the Eximbank China has agreed to provide the government a concessional loan at an interest rate of 2 % per annum for Cross Boarder Optic Fiber Project. The draft loan agreement has been cleared by the Finance Division. Pakistan will greatly benefit in terms of enhanced security and revenue from the state of the art optic fiber project between Pakistan and China for which a prominent Chinese telecom firm "Huawei" has been assigned the task. The optic fiber will be laid between Rawalpindi and Khunjrab, a distance of 820 Kilometers.
Malik Ahmed Khan said that there is no delay in Cross Boarder Optic Fiber Project and work on the project is continuing. Major infrastructure projects envisaged under the CPEC are Karakorum Highway up to Islamabad, Karachi-Lahore motorway, new Gwadar Airport, Gwadar Port with Kashghar through motorway and Motorway from Lahore to Karachi, etc.