China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (CPEC) Chairman Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa has said that the multi-billion dollar CPEC project has been moving ahead at a rapid pace despite the global economic slowdown resulted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He was addressing the online award ceremony organised by the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad for outstanding Pakistani staff of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong attended the online award ceremony wherein 18 outstanding Pakistani staff from Gwadar Port, energy, infrastructure and other fields of the CPEC construction received awards for their outstanding performance.
“After successful completion of the first phase, CPEC is expanding into its second phase as per schedule despite a very serious setback of Covid-19 around the world, ensuring economic stability and well-being of the people of Pakistan,” said Bajwa.
“The biggest dividends people of Pakistan are going to witness due to CPEC in the coming days include the creation of a plethora of local jobs, the transformation of technology, particularly in newer areas of science and technology, industrialisation and agriculture,” he said.
Addressing the ceremony, Ambassador Nong Rong said that CPEC has already made a difference in Pakistan’s connectivity.
Reiterating that CPEC is an important pilot project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), he said that the transit trade for Afghan goods through Gwadar Port has been officially launched, helped the sustainable supply of daily necessities for people of Pakistan and Afghanistan during Covid-19 period.
“We have also completed a number of environment-friendly social economic projects such as the expansion work of Faqur School in Gwadar, China-Pakistan Friendship Forest, aid of disaster relief facilities, donation of cold-chain vaccine storage and transportation equipment in a timely manner,” he added.
It is pertinent to mention here that in the current year, there was no halt in construction work, no job cut, and no withdrawal of the workforce in any of the CPEC’s projects
