Presentation By

Sardar Shoukat Popalzai

President - Balochistan Economic Forum

At

Seminar ‘China Pakistan Economic Corridor Opportunities & Challenges’

March 29th

, 2017

One Belt, One Road initiative - an economic instrument for the

success of CPEC.

CPEC as a regional integrator with greater opportunity provider for

the underdeveloped provinces of Pakistan precisely Balochistan.

Provinces will Shape the National Economic Agenda under CPEC.

The Impact of CPEC on Pakistan’s economy in the long run.

Will explore upon benefits of CPEC developed projects in different

economic sectors.

Pakistan to become a transit state for the regional economic

powers.

Since initiating market reforms in 1978, China has shifted from a

centrally-planned to a market-based economy and has experienced

rapid economic and social development. GDP growth has averaged

nearly 10 percent a year—the fastest sustained expansion by a

major economy in history—and has lifted more than 800 million

people out of poverty. China reached all the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 and made a major contribution

to the achievement of the MDGs globally.

With a population of 1.3 billion, China recently became the second

largest economy and is increasingly playing an important and

influential role in the global economy.

For centuries, Chinese products have wended their way thousands

of kilometers across mountains and deserts to the heart of central

Asia. Now, for the first time, the trade is carried by rail.

Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and Europe.

The Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road -

better known as One Belt, One Road - is China’s ambitious effort to

foster global trade and economic development, with ‘Chinese

characteristics’.

Rather than a foreign aid program or merely a network of trading

routes, at its heart One Belt, One Road (OBOR) is a debt-financed

infrastructure development strategy. Stretching from Asia to Europe,

it encompasses more than 60 countries, with official figures stating

that there are 900 deals underway currently.

China has deployed funds totaling around $100 billion: $40 billion

to the Central Asia-focused Silk Road Fund, $50 billion to a new

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and $10 billion to the

BRICS-led New Development Bank the economic weakness and

political instability of many of the Silk Road nations.

The Ashgabat agreement is a Multimodal transport agreement

between Oman, Iran,

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan for creating

an international transport and transit corridor facilitating

transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an

intergovernmental organization composed of China, Russia,

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan founded in

Shanghai in 2001.

Economic Corporation Organization (ECO).

There are three major pipeline projects on the books. The merging

point of all these three pipelines will create opportunities for the

province of Balochistan particularly downstream industries, such as

oil refinery, fertilizer plants, petrochemical, etc.

Pipeline -1: About 1,000-km of the total 1,400-km gas pipeline

connects Iran’s Persian gulf South Pars gas field to the Indian

border will pass through Balochistan province.

Pipeline -2: The 1,674-km Central Asia Oil Pipeline will connect

Turkmenistan Oil Fields to Gwadar via and Afghanistan.

Pipeline -3: The Gulf-South Asia (GUSA) pipeline project will have a

1,610-km long pipeline running offshore along Balochistan’s

coastline from Qatar up to Jiwani.

Gwadar is located on the southwestern coast of Pakistan, close to the

Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, through which more than 13

million bbl/d of oil passes. It is strategically located between three

increasingly important regions of the world: the oil-rich Middle East,

heavily populated South Asia and the economically emerging and

resource-rich Central Asia. The Gwadar Port would pave the way to

generate billions of dollars in foreign investments in the state-of-art

port city of South Asia.

PROJECTS AT GWADAR PORT - ENERGY SECTOR DOWN STREAM

Oil and Gas terminals

Oil refineries and large oil storages

Petrochemical industries etc

Gadani Energy Park (10 coal power plants with 6600MW capacity).

Increasing HUBCO power project with coal power plants.

Electricity:

Iran is supplying around 130 MW of electricity in coastal areas of

Balochistan, and Iran would further provide 1000MW

Gwadar Energy corridor and costal refinery.

Exact coal sources data in Balochistan is not available, but the

possibility of these deposits being sizeable cannot be ruled out.

Renewable energy :

Balochistan is blessed with the resources that can help ease energy

shortage substantially through renewable energy provided timely

and necessary steps are taken to exploit these resources to the

benefit of the province and the country.

Investments and assistance in the Economic Development.

Infrastructure Development.

Gwadar Port and city opportunities.

China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

There is a vast scope to improve further economic relations of

The People’s Republic of China & Pakistan with reference to the

province of Balochistan.

The People’s Republic of China can help in transfer of

technology/direct investment/ joint ventures in energy, fisheries,

fruit processing/agro-food, tourism, live stock and mineral

development.

The People’s Republic of China’s government and private sector

can also provide technical expertise for Gwadar Port and Gwadar

city development.

The People’s Republic of China’s government and representative

bodies can also enlighten the Chinese business concerns

regarding the investment potential of Balochistan through visits

of trade/ governmental delegations on reciprocal basis, besides

holding of conferences/exhibitions.

There are many challenges to doing business in Pakistan:

often unresponsive bureaucrats, inadequate infrastructure, a

pre-modern mind-set among much of the population, to name

a few. Balochistan presents many of these challenges and a

few more in a purer form. The province also offers great

opportunities to those willing to look for and develop the

energy resources below the surface of a lightly explored, but

geologically promising part of the world.