From Our Correspondent
BEIJING: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would go ahead despite impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as two countries are committed to the scheduled construction plan, said Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Talking to the Global Times in the Chinese capital, Qureshi said “I don’t think it’ll have an impact on the CPEC in the long run. But in the short run, yes, there could be a slight slowdown. As soon as we are over the hump of dealing with the coronavirus, I think we’ll be back on track.”
Qureshi’s comments came as President Arif Alvi this week visited China to show solidarity between the two “iron brothers” amid fears over the spread of the novel coronavirus worldwide. Initiative, is a phased mega-project that consists of many projects in different fields including energy and transportation.
Since the projects were launched, speculations from some countries have followed, the latest being that existing projects could be curtailed due to the impact of the virus.
However, Qureshi dismissed those claims, saying all projects are being carried out in phases.
In the first phase, projects mainly focus on industrialization preparation work, for example developing infrastructure to meet energy requirements in Pakistan, according to the foreign minister. Projects under the second phase have already begun, which mainly focus on industrialization, aimed at enhancing industrial production capacity, create jobs, stabilize the economy and address poverty alleviation in Pakistan, Qureshi said.
