ISLAMABAD: The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a delay of at least eight weeks in the implementation of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, a senior government functionary said on Friday, as he hoped that the problem would be fixed through effective mobilization of resources.
Thousands of Chinese workers have returned to Pakistan through special flights to resume work on different infrastructure projects after spending the Chinese new year holidays in their hometowns.
“We are estimating a maximum eight weeks of delay in different development projects due to the coronavirus pandemic,” Dr. Liaqat Ali Shah, CPEC’s Project Director, told Arab News on Friday.
The Chinese workers, who have been dealing with different CPEC projects, were stuck in different cities of their country when Beijing suspended the international flight operation in January due to the spread of the virus.
China has already developed a “double quarantine policy” for all its engineers and other workers in Pakistan.
“The Chinese travelling to Pakistan spend fourteen days in quarantine in China, and then they are also placed in quarantine for another fourteen days in Pakistan,” Shah said, adding that “effective measures” were in place to stem the spread of the virus in Pakistan's cities.
The project director said that the Chinese companies would place their workforce in quarantine at their respective project sites. “We don’t allow them to mix with the local population,” he said.
About the number of Chinese returning to Pakistan since February, he said that they were “in the thousands,” though he did not have the exact statistics.
Pakistan and China signed the $46 billion CPEC agreement in 2015 which later expanded to at least $62 billion. The infrastructure development projects include roads, railways, seaport, pipelines, industrial units and airports.
China plans to link its landlocked western region of Xinjiang to the Arabian Sea through the corridor project.
Shah said that Pakistan was mobilizing all the available resources to cover the time gap of eight weeks in different projects. “The work on all projects, including the transmission lines, roads and hospitals, is now in full swing,” he said.
The government has also constituted joint working groups and task forces to expand the scope of development projects by negotiating new schemes with the Chinese government.
In the next phase, Pakistan is planning to include development of agriculture, science and technology and petroleum sectors to boost its fragile economy and create job opportunities for both skilled and unskilled labor.
“At the moment, different studies are underway to include new projects related to agriculture and oil refineries in CPEC,” Shah said while dispelling the impression of any undue slowdown in the development schemes.
Coronavirus delays CPEC projects for about eight weeks — official
https://arab.news/mecav
Coronavirus delays CPEC projects for about eight weeks — official
- Says thousands of Chinese workers have returned to Pakistan to resume work
- Chinese workers dealing with corridor projects in Pakistan are quarantined at their project sites for fourteen days
Peace can only prevail if Afghanistan renounces support for ‘terrorism’— Pakistan defense chief
- Pakistan’s chief of defense forces visits South Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan
- Pakistan says has killed 481 Afghan Taliban operatives since clashes began last Thursday
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said on Wednesday that peace with Afghanistan can only prevail if Kabul renounces support for “terrorism” and “terrorist” organizations, the military’s media wing said as the two countries remain locked in conflict.
Fighting between the two neighbors, the worst in decades, broke out last Thursday night after Afghan forces attacked Pakistan’s military installations along their shared border. Afghanistan said its attacks were in response to earlier airstrikes by Pakistan against alleged militant hideouts in its country.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militant outfits such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on its soil who have launched attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces in recent years. Kabul denies the allegations.
Munir visited Wana town in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district to review the security situation and troops’ operational preparedness at the Afghan border, the Pakistani military’s media wing said in a statement.
“The Field Marshal reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organizations,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The military chief said the use of Afghan soil by militant outfits to launch attacks against Pakistan was unacceptable, vowing that “all necessary measures” would be taken to neutralize cross-border threats.
During the visit, Munir was briefed by military commanders about ongoing intelligence-based operations and measures being taken by the military to manage the border with Afghanistan.
He was also briefed about “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” or “Wrath for the Truth,” the name Pakistan has given to its military operation against Afghan forces, the ISPR said.
The Pakistani military chief spoke to troops deployed in the area, praising their vigilance, professional conduct and high morale, the ISPR said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the military has killed 481 Taliban operatives, injured more than 690 and destroyed 226 Afghan checkposts since clashes began.
Arab News has been unable to verify claims by both sides about the damages they claim to have inflicted on each other.
Afghanistan has signaled it is open for dialogue but Pakistan rejected the offer, saying it would continue its military operations till its objectives were achieved.
Since the conflict began, diplomatic efforts have intensified with several countries, including global bodies such as the European Union and United Nations, urging restraint and calling for talks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Ankara would help reinstate a ceasefire, the Turkish Presidency said on Tuesday, as other countries that had offered to mediate have since been hit by the conflict in the Gulf.
