ISLAMABAD: A new China-Pakistan cargo air route has been launched to facilitate air transport, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Monday, with the new route to link Ezhou Huahu Airport in central China’s Hubei province with the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore.
Pakistan’s ambassador to China, Khalil Hashmi, said that new cargo route would help “spur” bilateral trade and was a “significant step forward in bilateral connectivity spectrum.”
“The Ezhou-Lahore route is planned to operate three times a week, providing over 300 tons of air transport capacity from Ezhou to Lahore every week,” Radio Pakistan said.
Four airlines with several weekly commercial flights are already operating between Pakistan and China.
“The opening of this international cargo route will provide an efficient and stable air logistics channel for economic and trade exchanges between China and Pakistan, and provide more logistics convenience for Chinese brands to explore the Pakistani market,” Hashmi was quoted in a statement as saying.
China is a major ally and investor in Pakistan. The two countries collaborate on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, with more than $65 billion pledged for road, rail, and other infrastructure developments in the South Asian nation.
