BEIJING: China and Pakistan will look at extending their $57 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday, part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road plan linking China with Asia, Europe and beyond.
China has tried to position itself as a helpful party to promote talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan, both uneasy neighbors ever since Pakistan’s independence in 1947.
Their ties have been poisoned in recent years by Afghan accusations that Pakistan is supporting Taliban insurgents fighting the US-backed Kabul in order to limit the influence of its old rival, India, in Afghanistan.
Pakistan denies that and says it wants to see a peaceful, stable Afghanistan.
Speaking after the first trilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Wang said China hoped the economic corridor could benefit the whole region and act as an impetus for development.
Afghanistan has urgent need to develop and improve people’s lives and hopes it can join inter-connectivity initiatives, Wang told reporters, as he announced that Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed to mend their strained relations.
“So China and Pakistan are willing to look at with Afghanistan, on the basis of win-win, mutually beneficial principles, using an appropriate means to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan,” he added.
How that could happen needs the three countries to reach a gradual consensus, tackling easier, smaller projects first, Wang said, without giving details.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said his country and China were “iron brothers,” but did not directly mention the prospect of Afghanistan joining the corridor.
“The successful implementation of CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) projects will serve as a model for enhancing connectivity and cooperation through similar projects with neighboring countries, including Afghanistan, Iran and with central and west Asia,” he said.
India has looked askance at the project as parts of it run through Pakistan-administered Kashmir that India considers its own territory, though Wang said the plan had nothing to do with territorial disputes.
China has sought to bring Kabul and Islamabad together partly due to Chinese fears about the spread of Islamist militancy from Pakistan and Afghanistan to the unrest-prone far western Chinese region of Xinjiang.
As such, China has pushed for Pakistan and Afghanistan to improve their own ties so they can better tackle the violence in their respective countries, and has also tried to broker peace talks with Afghan Taliban militants, to limited effect.
A tentative talks process collapsed in 2015.
Wang said China fully supported peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban and would continue to provide “necessary facilitation.”
The Belt and Road infrastructure drive aims to build a modern-day “Silk Road” connecting China to economies in Southeast and Central Asia by land and the Middle East and Europe by sea.
China, Pakistan to look at including Afghanistan in $57 bln economic corridor
China, Pakistan to look at including Afghanistan in $57 bln economic corridor
New Murabba seeks contractors for Mukaab Towers fit-outs: MEED
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s New Murabba Development Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, has issued a request for information to gauge the market for modular and offsite fit-out solutions for its flagship Mukaab development, MEED reported on Wednesday.
The RFI was released on Jan. 26, with submissions due by Feb. 11. NMDC has also scheduled a market engagement meeting during the first week of February to discuss potential solutions with prospective contractors.
Sources close to the project told MEED that NMDC is “seeking experienced suppliers and contractors to advise on the feasibility, constraints, and execution strategy for using non-load-bearing modular systems for the four corner towers framing the Mukaab structure.” The feedback gathered from these discussions will be incorporated into later design and procurement decisions.
The four towers — two residential (North and South) and two mixed-use (East and West) — are integral to the Mukaab’s architectural layout. Each tower is expected to rise approximately 375 meters and span over 80 stories. Key modular elements under consideration include bathroom pods, kitchen pods, dressing room modules, panelized steel partition systems, and other offsite-manufactured fit-out solutions.
Early works on the Mukaab were completed last year, with NMDC preparing to award the estimated $1 billion contract for the main raft works. This was highlighted in a presentation by NMDC’s chief project delivery officer on Sept. 9, 2025, during the Future Projects Forum in Riyadh.
Earlier this month, US-based Parsons Corp. was awarded a contract by NMDC to provide design and construction technical support. Parsons will act as the lead design consultant for infrastructure, delivering services covering public buildings, infrastructure, landscaping, and the public realm at New Murabba. The firm will also support the development of the project’s downtown experience, which spans 14 million sq. meters of residential, workplace, and entertainment space.
The Parsons contract follows NMDC’s October 2025 agreements with three other US-based engineering firms for design work across the development. New York-headquartered Kohn Pedersen Fox was appointed to lead early design for the first residential community, while Aecom and Jacobs were selected as lead design consultants for the Mukaab district.
In August 2025, NMDC signed a memorandum of understanding with Falcons Creative Group, another US-based firm, to develop the creative vision and immersive experiences for the Mukaab project. Meanwhile, Beijing-based China Harbour Engineering Co. completed the excavation works for the Mukaab, and UAE-headquartered HSSG Foundation Contracting executed the foundation works.
