CPEC vital for China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative, says expert

LONDON: A veteran investment expert has said that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPE) is the most important and central part of China’s “One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative as this project needs a harbour which Pakistan ideally offers in the form of Gwadar port.

Ryan He, Board Member of CPIC and expert on Chinese government and its investments, told this to Pakistani media at a press conference here which was organised by CPIC for formally announcing the launch of Gwadar’s first luxury golf community called “China Pak Golf Estates” for which an MoU for construction has been signed with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), the second largest construction and engineering firm in the world.

The press conference was attended by Zeeshaan Shah, expert on Gwadar and Pakistan real estate and Board member of China Pak Golf Estates Panel; Lord Maxwell Beaverbrook, CPIC’s Board Member; Mark Savage, Chief Commercial Officer; and Ben Wiseman, Chief Financial Officer.

Ryan said that China decided to invest in the CPEC after long deliberations and keeping in view all aspects related to Pakistan’s internal dynamics, local and international situation and long-term prospects. He said that China needed a harbour for its growth and future trade

deals and route which Pakistan offered.

He said that with China Pak Golf Estate by CPIC, the objective is to help Gwadar build its first social infrastructure to compliment the huge amount of Chinese investment in the area. “We are developing multi-cultural, lifestyle communities that are secure and cater to both local and expatriate professionals. Gwadar is at the core of all the development that’s taking place.”

He said that China was faced with the situation like in the play of Shakespeare and needed to decide whether “to be or not to be, to invest in Pakistan or not” and in the end it was decided that it was best to invest in Pakistan as that was the real way forward.

Zeeshan Shah explained that the grand golf community worth $265 million is secure and spread across 6.7 million square feet. “It’s a tailor made project for both and Chinese professionals working in the flourishing port city of Gwadar and provides all of the amenities required for a quality lifestyle, set to become the most desirable lifestyle address in Gwadar.”

Shah said that the CPEC was set to revolutionise Pakistan and already making a huge impact. “The whole world is talking about it. We launched ‘Emerging Pakistan’ campaign on London’s iconic double-decker buses to send out the message to the world that Pakistan is safe to invest and Gwadar offers best returns on investments and investors missing out on investing in Gwadar will regret. Our Golf Estates project is approved by the Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) and not only that we are investing in building houses but as part of our corporate responsibility we will be building a network of schools too. Our project will be based on prime coastal highway location. We are taking our projects to all major cities in the UK (Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Bradford) early next month to give an opportunity to British Pakistanis and investors here to invest in Gwadar and then we will be moving to China. Our campaign is being led by boxing star Amir Khan.”

Zeeshan Shah said that it’s a great and exciting time in the history of Pakistan where one democratically elected government will be passing charge to another through smooth transfer of democratic power. “It’s a flourishing country. No matter what happened politically in the last ten years, Pakistan’s real estate sector has only progressed.

The opportunities in real estate sector will only get better. Gwadar is in the hands of Pakistan Army and that gives everyone a strong sense of security.”

Mark Savage said that the CPEC is more than a project as “it’s a dream”. He added: “We aim to bring positive change to Pakistan through safe and sustainable development.” Ben Wiseman said that Pakistan’s economy has shown its resilience and has progressed continuously. “It’s continuing to expand. Its GDP has risen and it’s set to receive further foreign investments.