ISLAMABAD: CPEC optical fiber cable a win-win project for China, Pakistan, WealthPK reported on Tuesday.
The report says, the CPEC digital connectivity is acclaimed as a “recreation-changer” in Pakistan for its capability to redesign the economic system of Pakistan.
The CPEC will contribute not only to Pakistan’s traditional economic system, but also substantially facilitate and enhance its digital economic system through various digital connectivity tasks in its domain.
The 820-kilometer cross-border optical fiber cable – costing $44 million – extends from northwest China’s Xinjiang and enters Pakistan through the Khunjerab border after which it travels through Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) onwards to Islamabad and Rawalpindi where it connects with the existing optical connectivity network of Pakistan, WealthPK reported.
The cable is also connected with the first ever local Internet Exchange Point (IXP) in Islamabad to exchange and control internet visitors. The internet service providers (ISPs) can connect at a single point, which will serve as a secure interconnection point to exchange the local information within the country by avoiding international network hyperlinks.
The cable will decrease the cost of internet with improved performance besides promoting and facilitating regional economic cooperation and enabling various ICT integration services between both the countries.
The cable will facilitate regional trade, e-commerce, e-governance, and will play a role in the development of industrials roads, railways, and ports, WealthPK reported.
It has vast benefits for Gilgit-Baltistan, as lack of digital infrastructure in GB is one of the main hurdles to an efficient cross-border trade between China and Pakistan across the Khunjerab border.
The inception of the new fiber cable allowed for introduction of online Web Based One Custom System (WEBOC) at the dry port in GB which is the first customs dry port through which all cargo coming from the Khunjerab border must get cleared by the Pakistan Customs before entering the country.
Previously, Pakistan had only one landing station for the respective submarine cable located at Karachi to handle the entire internet traffic of the country. Any fault in this landing station would interrupt the internet traffic countrywide.
This cable helps to reduce dependence on the submarine cable routes and provides a more secure and reliable international communication network, WealthPK reported.
The digital connectivity will positively contribute to economic development by optimizing existing and future coordination in the supply chain for e-commerce within Pakistan. It will help exchange of information, financial transactions, and physical goods and services.
This connectivity will spread not only from many soft projects, but also to hard infrastructure projects such as online trade facilitation, e-commerce, and e-government. It will also play a supporting role in the construction and management of industrial parks, roads, rail, and ports. -INP
