Pakistan, China to form consortium for $7 bn rail project, unveil second phase of CPEC
The four-year action plan (2025–29) aims to deepen political, economic, and security ties between the two countries under CPEC’s next phase
Pakistan and China have agreed to establish a consortium of bilateral and multilateral partners to fund a $7 billion railway project, while also unveiling a four-year action plan (2025–29) for the second phase of the CPEC initiative.
Also read | Explained: Has China pulled back from Pakistan’s $60-billion CPEC dream?
Pakistan and China recently launched the second phase of the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
Karachi-Peshawar rail link
Addressing a news conference, Pakistan’s Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to China, both countries agreed to constitute a consortium of financiers, comprising the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), China, and Pakistan, to fund the 1,700-km Karachi-Peshawar railway line, Dawn reported on Tuesday.
He said China had assured financing not only for the rail project but also for the Karakoram Highway. Negotiations with multiple financiers would be concluded within a month, he added.
The minister said Pakistan and China have agreed to develop and implement a four-year action plan to build, between 2025 and 2029, a “China-Pakistan community with a shared future” with stronger political trust, closer trade ties, deeper security cooperation and stronger people-to-people links.
Belt and Road Initiative
The plan includes aligning the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with Pakistan’s 5Es Framework, implementing both large-scale landmark projects and “small and beautiful” livelihood projects, while ensuring both high-quality development and robust security, Dawn reported.
Also read | India reiterates opposition to China's Belt and Road Initiative
India opposes the CPEC, which will link Xinjiang in China and the Gwadar port in Pakistan's Balochistan, as it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The CPEC is the flagship project of China’s ambitious multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The BRI is seen as an attempt by Beijing to further its influence abroad with infrastructure projects funded by Chinese investments all over the world.
(With agency inputs)