Infrastructure construction under CPEC will transform model: CHINCA

BEIJING  –  Chairman of China International Contractors Association (CHINCA), Fang Qiuchen has said that infrastructure construction under Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will transform and upgrade their model in several aspects.

This week, China International Contractors Association (CHINCA) summarised the development of Chinese international projects in BRI countries in 2020. 

According to the summary, in 1979, the annual value of China’s overseas contracts was only $34 million, and in 2020, the number exceeded $250 billion, an increase of nearly 8,000 times in the past 40 years, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Sunday.

Fang said, Asia, the largest benefited destination area of China’s infrastructure assistance, has accounted for more than 50% of the newly signed and completed contracts globally in 2020. Among them, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Saudi Arabia are key host countries.

In recent years, Chinese projects in Pakistan have focused on energy, housing and roads. From 2020, the construction of rail transit, such as high-speed rail and subway, will also rise under CPEC. “China has built many large railway projects in BRI countries, which can be seen in CPEC. Lahore Orange Line subway project, an exact example of BRI railway projects, was completed and started operation in 2020,” Fang said, “it’s the first respect of transformation.”

The second transformation is that in addition to building infrastructure directly, China will also share more Chinese solutions and wisdom with Pakistan so that the nation can develop its own abilities to construct infrastructure. CPEC infrastructure projects emphasise localisation, employing Pakistani workers and training local technicians. China’s strengths lie in equipment manufacturing capabilities and practical, advanced technology.

Finally, CPEC will focus more on climate and environment. In 2020, CHINCA issued the Guidelines on Overseas Sustainable Infrastructure Projects of Chinese Enterprises, which set out the requirements for the green and sustainable development of BRI projects. 

Not only energy projects, but all CPEC projects will comply with China’s green development requirements, which are higher than international standards.