China’s Belt and Road programme has found new life in Pakistan with $11 billion worth of projects signed in the last month, driven by a former lieutenant general who has reinvigorated the infrastructure plan that’s been languishing since Prime Minister Imran Khan took office two years ago.
The nations signed deals on June 25 and July 6 for two hydro-power generation projects costing $3.9 billion in the disputed Kashmir region, and another to revamp the South Asian nation’s colonial-era railways for $7.2 billion — the most expensive Chinese project yet in Pakistan.
Khan’s government appointed Asim Saleem Bajwa last year to run the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority, which oversees more than $70 billion in projects from power plants to highways. He also joined Khan’s Cabinet in late April, becoming one of more than a dozen former and current military officials in prominent government roles.
The Chinese financing has helped rid Pakistan of an electricity deficit that left exporters unable to meet orders and major cities without electricity for much of the day. Still, the implementation of some investments appeared to stall since Khan came to power, with no projects announced in 2018 and few in 2019.
Since Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the initiative in 2013, the World Bank estimates about $575 billion worth of energy plants, railways, roads, ports and other projects have been built or are in the works across the globe. Its progress has slowed recently, dogged by accusations that China is luring poor countries into debt traps for its own political and strategic gain.
“The reality is that much of CPEC, like the Belt and Road more broadly, has been paralysed,” said Jonathan Hillman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, referring to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Pakistan “is a flagship for China’s Belt and Road, so the need to show progress is even more important.”
In a tweet last month, Bajwa said some detractors had given the “false impression” that CPEC had been slowed. Not only has the pace of work on projects picked up recently, but a great deal of ground work has been done to launch phase two of the project that also includes special economic zones to lure Chinese manufacturers, agriculture, science, technology and tourism, he wrote.
“The PM pushed hard on this,” said Abdul Razak Dawood, Khan’s adviser on commerce and investments. “We feel that we have to get more and more hydro in our energy mix.” A spokesman in Bajwa’s office said he was not immediately available to comment.
Pakistan’s army is already responsible for securing every single Beijing-funded project across the country. Its role has become even more important following attacks on three Chinese-related projects in the past year.
Indeed there’s deepening concerns over Islamabad’s ability to service its debts under the programme. The Center for Global Development has listed Pakistan among eight nations that face potential debt-sustainability problems because of the initiative. The country must repay China more than double the amount it owes the IMF over the next three years, according to IMF.
For its part, Beijing says its projects in Pakistan had made major progress over the last six years. “China firmly supports the development of CPEC and stands ready to work with Pakistan,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on July 7.
“China and Pakistan may also be antagonising India,” said Hillman. Both hydro projects are in Kashmir, and the railway is part of a much longer, and still far-fetched plan to connect China and Pakistan by rail, also passing through occupied territory, said Hillman.
The nations signed deals on June 25 and July 6 for two hydro-power generation projects costing $3.9 billion in the disputed Kashmir region, and another to revamp the South Asian nation’s colonial-era railways for $7.2 billion — the most expensive Chinese project yet in Pakistan.
Khan’s government appointed Asim Saleem Bajwa last year to run the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority, which oversees more than $70 billion in projects from power plants to highways. He also joined Khan’s Cabinet in late April, becoming one of more than a dozen former and current military officials in prominent government roles.
The Chinese financing has helped rid Pakistan of an electricity deficit that left exporters unable to meet orders and major cities without electricity for much of the day. Still, the implementation of some investments appeared to stall since Khan came to power, with no projects announced in 2018 and few in 2019.
Since Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the initiative in 2013, the World Bank estimates about $575 billion worth of energy plants, railways, roads, ports and other projects have been built or are in the works across the globe. Its progress has slowed recently, dogged by accusations that China is luring poor countries into debt traps for its own political and strategic gain.
“The reality is that much of CPEC, like the Belt and Road more broadly, has been paralysed,” said Jonathan Hillman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, referring to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Pakistan “is a flagship for China’s Belt and Road, so the need to show progress is even more important.”
In a tweet last month, Bajwa said some detractors had given the “false impression” that CPEC had been slowed. Not only has the pace of work on projects picked up recently, but a great deal of ground work has been done to launch phase two of the project that also includes special economic zones to lure Chinese manufacturers, agriculture, science, technology and tourism, he wrote.
“The PM pushed hard on this,” said Abdul Razak Dawood, Khan’s adviser on commerce and investments. “We feel that we have to get more and more hydro in our energy mix.” A spokesman in Bajwa’s office said he was not immediately available to comment.
Pakistan’s army is already responsible for securing every single Beijing-funded project across the country. Its role has become even more important following attacks on three Chinese-related projects in the past year.
Indeed there’s deepening concerns over Islamabad’s ability to service its debts under the programme. The Center for Global Development has listed Pakistan among eight nations that face potential debt-sustainability problems because of the initiative. The country must repay China more than double the amount it owes the IMF over the next three years, according to IMF.
For its part, Beijing says its projects in Pakistan had made major progress over the last six years. “China firmly supports the development of CPEC and stands ready to work with Pakistan,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on July 7.
“China and Pakistan may also be antagonising India,” said Hillman. Both hydro projects are in Kashmir, and the railway is part of a much longer, and still far-fetched plan to connect China and Pakistan by rail, also passing through occupied territory, said Hillman.
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