To meet agri requirements of country: Pakistan asks China to add Chashma Right Bank Canal in CPEC

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has formally requested China to include Chashma Right Bank Canal into list of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in order to meet agriculture requirements of the country.

Top official sources confirmed to The News on Tuesday that Chashma Right Bank Canal had so far remained a non-starter irrigation project from last several years and even the federal government had allocated some amount for conducting its feasibility study in the current fiscal year’s Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for 2019-20. Its initial estimated cost ranges around Rs120 to Rs150 billion. It is not yet known whether China will consider provision of soft loan or not because commercial loan will not provide viable preposition to execute this project.

However, both Pakistan and China in their recent official interactions have agreed to take agriculture as a key cooperation area on the basis of equality and mutual benefits, enhancing cooperation in capacity building, germ plasm resources, agricultural products processing, technology extension, fisheries, disease-free zone construction, and market information. “Pakistan side highlighted that Pakistan had a huge water resources for agriculture sector and recommended the inclusion of Chashma Right Bank Canal in list of CPEC projects,” top official sources confirmed to The News here on Tuesday.

On issue of international cooperation and coordination under CPEC framework, both sides reviewed with satisfaction the outcomes achieved and progress made since the first meeting of the Joint Working Group on International Cooperation held in April 2019. It was agreed to maintain close communication and strengthen cooperation to implement consensus reached by the leaders of both countries aimed at further deepening international cooperation and exchanges between think-tanks and the academic community.

On the subject of security under CPEC agreement, the two sides reaffirmed that security is of utmost importance to the development of CPEC. Both sides agreed that they should be highly vigilant to the threats of terrorist attacks. Chinese side appreciated dedicated security being provided by Government of Pakistan to CPEC projects and agreed that raising of Special Security Division (SSD) North and South has further enhanced security of CPEC. Pakistani side will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of Chinese personnel and CPEC projects.

The Chinese side will make best efforts to work with Pakistani side to mitigate all threats to CPEC. The Chinese side will continue to provide support for capacity building of Pakistani side to the best of its ability. Both sides agreed that the wide application of technology will further improve the efficiency of security work of CPEC, and the two sides will further enhance cooperation to establish a more effective security system with Gwadar port as pilot. The two sides agreed to enhance joint cooperation on security of CPEC in all domains.

On use of Chinese currency RMB, the two sides recognised that financing had always been a notable bottleneck for CPEC project execution. In order to fundamentally resolve the financing issue, based on the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries, the two sides agreed to drive RMB financing in CPEC projects.

The Chinese side has set up an inter-department work mechanism for RMB financing at the secretariat level. In terms of ML-1, a separate work mechanism for ML-1 is set up under JWG on Transport Infrastructure, responsible for both technical issues and financing coordination. Both sides will work through their respective inter-department teams to finalise the financing arrangement, the official concluded.