Removing CPEC bottlenecks: Tunnels may smoothen trade in winter

Four-month trade stoppage with China because of weather is an irritant

GILGIT: Steps will soon be taken to keep the flow of containers nonstop on the CPEC route even in extreme winter conditions, official spokesperson for the Gilgit-Baltistan government Faizullah Faraq said on Monday.

Expressing optimism regarding removal of bottlenecks in bilateral trade with China, Faraq hinted at the possibility of excavating a series of tunnels along the CPEC route.



“The first convoy that reached Gwadar via Sost was a test case,” said the spokesman. “It was a success and now (the flow) will not stop.”

Keeping in line with decades-old traditions, the border between the two countries closed on December 1.

The border closure, lasting till April 1 next year, is observed under an agreement signed by both countries in 1985 to avoid losses in harsh weather conditions in this mountainous and rugged region. A month earlier, the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was formally launched as  hundreds of Chinese trucks loaded with goods rolled into the Sost dry port in Gilgit-Baltistan on November 1 this year.

“The closure of border means suspension of all business activities,” said Imran Ali, who is the president of the Gilgit-Baltistan Chamber of Commerce.

“But that’s under a protocol which is in the interest of traders,” Ali said.

Ali said that because traders involved in trade with China knew the schedule of border closure, it did not affect their businesses. He was confident that this stoppage would soon end under the CPEC. “Neither Pakistan nor China can afford to waste this much time, especially after the start of CPEC,” he said, adding that four-month-long suspension meant huge loss in revenue in customs duties.

China, busy reviving the Old Silk Route under its ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative, has asked Pakistan recently to suggest ways to reduce trade losses caused by possible extreme weather events.

China organised the International Science Forum of National Scientific Organisations in Beijing, which was participated by 36 heads of Asian and European scientific organisations.



During the conference, Pakistan urged China to develop a multi-hazard early warning system in areas vulnerable to climate hazards such as tsunamis, flashfloods, landslides, earthquakes, fog, tropical cyclones and dust storms. Pakistan also called for strengthening weather and climate data network, besides improving financial cooperation and sharing skill and technology-based knowledge among member states.

These measures would help Beijing greatly reduce trade and human losses on the route, officials said.

Heavy snowfall, threats of avalanches and other extreme events linked with extreme cold weather in this area of the world, forces stoppage of large vehicles, besides ending all activities at the Sost dry port. The dry port starts closing down by the middle of December before packing up by year end. Life returns to normal after the port opens on April 1 next year.

Trade has not yet picked up, but officials had high hopes of boosting the ailing national economy. So far, no major difference had appeared in domestic revenue on this front.

“So far, the revenue collection is Rs1.85 billion this year,” said Deputy Collector of Customs Akbar Gandapur.

“The number of containers arriving at Sost (dry port) from China is (still) 1,200,” said Gandapur, who is posted at Sost. The first consignment of CPEC goods was received by G-B Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman and the commander of the Force Command Northern Areas Maj-Gen Saqib Mehmood.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2016.