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China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) | Updates & Discussions

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China-led consortium to operate Pakistan's first metro line
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 17:12:18|Editor: huaxia

GUANGZHOU, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Guangzhou Metro Group said it has formed a consortium with two other companies and the trio will take over the operation and maintenance of the Orange Line metro service, Pakistan's first-ever mass rapid urban transit, for an eight-year term.

It is the first rail transit project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which fully adopts Chinese standards, technology and equipment, the company said.

The consortium, consisting of Guangzhou Metro Group, Norinco International and Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service, signed a service contract on Tuesday with the mass transit authority of Punjab province in Pakistan.

The north-south metro line, which was built in Punjab's capital Lahore, spans 25.58 km, mostly elevated, with a total of 26 stations and trains running at 80 kph.

Guangzhou Metro Group is busy making operational preparations and recruiting managerial and technical staff to ensure the Orange Line's commercial launch in early June as scheduled.
 
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What's the procedure of bringing a Chinese Brand in Pakistan?

  • Registration.
  • Any Grant on Tax (Due to CPEC).
  • If Importing Products of the Brand - Import Duty Wavier?
  • Any other important aspect?
 
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1956: A Welcome to Chinese Premier Chou En-Lai at #Karachi


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Dr Shahid Masood in his program is daily asking infact pleading pm IK to visit Gawadar. He claims that the Chinese leadership has conveyed to the Pakistani establishment regarding the government's apathy towards Cpec. Gen Asim Bajwa's appointment as Cpec's chairman was infact a direct result of this. Can anyone further expand on this? Is the pti gov really not taking cpec seriously enough?
 
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Pakistani student in China striving to promote agriculture & technology cooperation under BRI

Abdul Ghaffar Shar, a Pakistani doctoral student in China’s Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University (NWAFU), was busy helping his teachers harvest the wheat in the university’s experimental fields over the past few days.

Wearing a straw hat and gloves, Shar, 29, did farm work under the hot sun like local farmers in Yangling, northwest China’s Shaanxi province.

Yangling, an agricultural hi-tech industrial demonstration zone in China, is located about 80 km from the starting point of the ancient Silk Road in Xi’an, the provincial capital.

More than 2,000 years ago, Zhang Qian, an imperial envoy, set off from Xi’an and traveled westward on a mission of peace that opened the Silk Road, an overland route linking the East and West.

Although he knew little about Zhang, Shar said he also wants to be an “envoy” between China and Pakistan as the two countries deepen cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

“I am studying plant nutrition science in China. I hope I can play a role in strengthening the agricultural technology exchange between the two countries under the initiative,” said Shar.
FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Sindh Agriculture University in Pakistan in 2014, Shar decided to continue studies in China’s NWAFU.

A new journey started.

Shar learned to speak mandarin and use chopsticks. He also adapted to Chinese food. In order to make more friends, Shar let his teacher give him a Chinese name “Jin Letian”, which means “golden, happiness and sky.”

This winter vacation, Shar did not return to his hometown and spent most of the time on his research. However, the COVID-19 epidemic disrupted his plans.

According to local regulations on the prevention and control of COVID-19, Shar was required to stay in his dormitory in February. During the stay, teachers regularly delivered face masks, food, and other daily necessities to him.

“I think the restriction is necessary. Wearing facial masks, washing hands frequently, not panicking, and no gatherings are the experiences I cherished,” he said.

“I also shared my experiences with my family in Pakistan. In fact, the Chinese people’s sense of solidarity during the epidemic impressed me a lot,” Shar said.
EMBRACE BETTER LIFE

Shar is researching plant nutrition for his doctoral degree.

In Shar’s opinion, Pakistan is a traditional agricultural country and farmers use many chemical fertilizers in the fields, which has a negative impact on soil fertility and the environment.

“I study to improve soil fertility by adjusting trace elements of farmlands, which will help increase grain yields in my hometown,” he said.

In the past six years, Shar collected research samples extensively from all around the experiment stations in Shaanxi, which also gave him an opportunity to experience the development of China’s rural areas.

“A village that we frequented in Sanyuan County had new changes almost every year, like newly renovated houses and wider roads,” he said.

Besides the daily lessons, he also participated in local poverty alleviation programs.

Of the 253 foreign students in the university at present, 85 percent are from countries and regions along the Belt and Road, including 79 from Pakistan.

In December, Shar and other international students at the university became volunteer teachers in a primary school in Fang Town. He got the opportunity to teach online classes to his students during the epidemic.

The Belt and Road Initiative has brought the people of China and Pakistan closer, said Shar. He said after graduation, he would engage in trade in agricultural products between China and Pakistan.

 
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Groundbreaking of ML-I project likely in March next year



After the Central Development Working Party’s approval regarding the up-gradation of the Karachi-Peshawar Main-Line (ML-1) Project, the government is expecting the groundbreaking of the project around March 2021.
According to the budgetary documents, the concessional financing agreement for the landmark ML-1 Project (estimated to be $7.2 billion) is expected to be finalized in 2020, and subsequently, an arrangement will be made for the commencement of physical work.

The strategic railway project of ML-1 has been planned as part of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The implementation period of the project is nine years — to be executed in three phases. The project, which aims to upgrade and dualism of 1,872-km rail track from Peshawar to Karachi, has the potential to create 174,000 direct jobs.

According to documents, “The government has so far remarkable progress on the ML-1 project, with the financing committee, which has participation from both countries, successfully holding several meetings to finalize the concessional financial modalities for the project.”

Meanwhile, the government has allocated a total of Rs6 billion for the ML-1 Project under its Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) 2020-21.

A planning ministry official informed that the project allocation would be increased in the coming years when physical work on the project would start gaining momentum.

He said that 90pc of the total project would be funded by China.

In total, the government has allocated Rs77 billion for various development projects under CPEC for the year 2020-21.

 
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Projects around CPEC are going too slow. If they are in China, they would be finished long ago. Why is the dalay?
 
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