China has again hiked its investment in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor to $62 billion from $55 billion, media reports suggested.
China’s initial investment for CPEC in Pakistan was $46 billion in 2015; that number has been steadily going up with increasing investments required in Pakistan’s infrastructure and power projects. A major chunk of the multibillion-dollar investment, $34 billion, is going into electricity production and distribution APP reported.
Now, the additional financing is for infrastructure projects and industrial zones in Pakistan under CPEC. The volume of China’s investment in Pakistan would be significantly higher than $62 billion if its private sector investment is also counted.
“This ($62 billion investment) is good news. People will reap dividends of the investment… CPEC will create massive economic momentum in Pakistan,” said Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair, a member of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s core economic team.
International credit rating agency Moody’s has expressed confidence that projects being implemented under the CPEC umbrella would help boost Pakistan’s economy. In its latest reports, it has predicted that CPEC would fuel growth and the country is likely to achieve the GDP growth rate of 5% during current financial year.
In fact, a number of countries, spread over five continents, have expressed their keen interest to become a partner in CPEC-related projects and programs.
Last month, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said at least 52 countries are willing to join China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Still, it was important to utilize the investment increase properly, said a Pakistan Credit Rating Agency official. “We need to make sure the process (of utilizing the finances) remains transparent,” the official, who demanded anonymity, said.
