Marketing CPEC: Summit, expo planned to woo investors

Event also expected to open avenues of trade and tourism

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform is organising a one-day summit and expo to mark the signing of $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) programme.

The event will be held on August 29 at the Pak-China Friendship Centre, Islamabad. It is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and will be attended by a large number of local and foreign dignitaries as well as investors, say officials responsible for organising the event.



Its objective is to motivate and attract more and more investors to pour capital into Pakistan and help boost the national economy. It will also provide a platform for exchanging ideas and open new avenues for increasing business, trade and tourism.

The CPEC is a collection of energy and infrastructure projects that are intended to strengthen and deepen economic links between Pakistan and China. Of the total $46-billion investment, $35 billion has been allocated for energy projects and $11 billion for infrastructure schemes.

So far, none of the energy projects have been completed and are at various stages of implementation. However, five projects of NHA has been completed so far.



The projects have been split into two categories - priority and actively promoted. The schemes that come under the priority category are planned to be completed by 2018 and those under the title of actively promoted will be completed by 2025.

“The Ministry of Planning has asked relevant ministries, institutions, academia and private businesses to showcase their achievements before the visitors and guests at the upcoming expo,” an official said.

Talking to The Express Tribune, National Highway Authority (NHA) spokesman Kashif Zaman said being a major stakeholder in the CPEC, the NHA would actively take part in the summit and expo.



He said some of the major CPEC projects, which were under construction, would be completed in the next two to three years. These included 393km Sukkur-Multan motorway (M5) costing Rs281 billion, 59km Hasanabdal-Havelian motorway costing Rs34 billion, 120km Havelian-Thakot motorway costing Rs133 billion, 281km Hakla-DI Khan motorway (western corridor) costing Rs122 billion, 62km Gojra-Shorkot motorway (M4) worth Rs21 billion and 62km Lahore-Abdul Hakim (Multan) motorway worth Rs148 billion.

Zaman said the Rs163 billion ($1.7 billion) Hyderabad-Sukkur (M-6) section of the Karachi-Lahore motorway still needed an investor. “Hopefully, this expo and summit will help to find the interested investor,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9^th, 2016.

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