Overthelastfiveyears,theBRI,theepicvisionofChinesePresidentXiJinping,hasmaterializedasanempiricalreality.Attributedtoitsempoweringinfluence,SouthAsia,oncelabeledasthelandofailingeconomies,hasmadeanimpressiveturnaroundclaimingbackitsleadingroleinglobalgrowth.ThisleadingroleisgoingtobecomplementedandfurtherconsolidatedasChina鈥檚annualtradewithBRIcountriesishopedtoexceedUS$2.5trillioninadecade.
TheBRIhasbreathedfreshvitalityintoSouthAsiaandhelpedtheregionreshapeitsinternationalrelations,saidtheAsianCompetitivenessAnnualReport2018.China鈥檚BeltandRoadInitiative,akeydriverofprominentgeopoliticalandgeo-economicdevelopments,addressesallcommercialaspirationsofSouthAsia,whichhoststheChina-PakistanEconomicCorridor(CPEC)andBangladesh-China-India-MyanmarEconomicCorridor(BCIM)withinfrastructuralupgradestoSriLankanports.
InspiredbytheSilkRoadEconomicBeltand21stcenturyMaritimeSilkRoadsincetheBRIproposalin2013todate,SouthAsia鈥檚growthrateisestimatedtoswellto6.9percentduringtheongoingyear.
AccordingtotheWorldBankReport2018,Pakistanislikelytoaccelerateto5.8percentin2018-19.Bangladeshwillpickupat6.7percent.SriLankaisprojectedtorisetofivepercentasexportsareonthetrackofrevival,domesticdemandrobust,andinvest-mentflowshealthy.鈥淎fghanistan,Maldives,Nepal,andBhutanhaveagreatopportunitytogiveanewpushtotheirgrowthratesiftheyagreetojointheepicBRI,鈥漵aysHaroonRaja,senioreconomist.
InfrastructureProgress
MostofCPEC鈥檚majorinfrastructureprojectsarenearingcompletion.LinkingKashgharCityofXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegionofChinatotheGwadarportofBalochistanProvinceofPakistan,theyaregoingtoformamoderntradecorridor.Offeringfastandqualitativelogistics,andtravelandtransportfacilities,thenewalignmentswillblazetrailsineconomicgrowth.Pakistan鈥檚railnetworkdealtwithover70percentofthenationalfreightloadinthe1970s,whichreducedtojustfourpercentinrecentyears.Expertsbelievethatthiswouldincreaseto21percentafterCPECrailprojectscompletewithfreighttrafficincreasingfromfiveto25milliontonsperannumby2025.Thepassengertrafficisalsopredictedtoincreaseby46percentfrom55to80millionpassengersperannum.
UndertheBeltandRoadInitiative,ChinesecompaniescompletedmorethanUS$15billionworthofinfrastructureinSriLanka.Inordertomaterializetheactionplan,thesurroundinginfrastructureisalsobeingrevamped.Thiswillseetwoloopedroadways,linkedtoanundergroundtunnel,providingadirectconnectiontoSriLanka鈥檚expresswaynetwork,streamliningaccesstoothermajorcitiesintheregion.Anewinter-citytrainlinkwillalsoconnecttoColombo鈥檚light-railsystem.TheChina-backedKarnaphuliMulti-ChannelTunnelProjectinsouthernBangladesh,akeycomponentinseveralBRIprojects,willconnecttheportcityofChittagongtothefarsideoftheKarnaphuliRiver,thesiteofaneweconomiczone.Duetobecompletedin2020,thetunnelwilldrasticallycutthetraveltimebetweenChittagongandCox鈥檚Bazar,oneofthecountry鈥檚leadingtouristdestinations,andeasetheheavytrafficcongestiononthetwoexistingbridgesacrosstheriver,whilealsoconnectingwiththeKoreanExportProcessingZoneandShahAmanatInternationalAirport.Itwillalsofeedintotwootherprojectsthatarecurrentlyunderway鈥搕heAsianHighwayandtheDhaka-ChittagongCox鈥檚BazarHighway.DevelopmentofPorts
Gwadar,theterminalpointofCPEC,onceasleepyfishingtownatthecoastoftheArabianSeainPakistan鈥檚southwestBalochistanProvince,isnowafullyfunctionalportterminal,withregularcargoservices,afreetradezone,andabusinesscenter,becominganeconomiclifelineforPakistan.AccordingtoChinaOverseasPortsHoldingCompany(COPHC),theport鈥檚operator,some20companiesindifferentbusinesseshavealreadyjoinedtheGwadarfreetradezonewithdirectinvestmentsofoverUS$460million.
ThelivingstandardsofGwadar鈥檚localsarealsoshowingsignsofimprovement.Newroadshavebeenconstructed,educationalinstitutionsandhospitalsestablishedandupgraded,waterpurificationplantsinstalled,andanewinternationalairportconstructed.Peopleindroves,fromlaborerstobusinessmen,havebeenmovingtoGwadarandsurroundingareastoreapthebenefitsofemergingopportunitiesforbusinessandemploymentduetothelaunchofCPEC.
TakingadvantageoftheBRIbonanza,SriLankaisalsotryingtorestoreitspivotalroleasanattractivemaritimeinterchangeforcargoboundformultipledestinationsacrossEuropeandAsia.Inordertoachievethis,atotalof269hectaresoflandhastobereclaimedfromtheseabetweentheSouthHarboroftheColomboInternationalContainerPortTerminalandGalleFaceGreen.Oncethereclamationworkendsin2019,theareawillseespiralingcommercialdevelopmentsinaseriesofphasesuntil2041,providingmassivebusinessopportunitiesandahighnumberofjobs.
EnergySolutions
Pakistanhadbeensufferingacutepowershortageswithpowercutsofupto20hoursadayoverthelastfewyears.Thepoweroutagestriggeredpublicangerandhinderedbothindustrialandeconomicactivitygreatly.
CPEC鈥檚powerprojectseasedthesituation.AtotalofUS$33.8billioninenergyprojectshaveaddedupto12,230Megawattsofenergy.Accesstoelectricityfortheurbanpopulationincreasedfrom90percentin2015to98.8percent.Pakistan鈥檚MinistryofPlanning,DevelopmentandReformhopesthatafterallCPECenergyprojectsarecompleted,thecountry鈥檚currentelectricityproductionwillbedoubled.The1,320-megawattSahiwalcoal-firedpowerplantandthePortQasimcoal-firedpowerplantwiththesamecapacityhavealreadystartedproduction.Theyareexpectedtogenerate18billionkWhofelectricitytogetherannually,whichcancatertotheneedsofeightmillionhouseholds.QasimCoalFiredPowerPlantinPakistanisthefirstlarge-scaleenergyprojectintheChina-PakistanEconomicCorridor.UndertheBeltandRoadInitiative,ChinaandSriLankajointlyconstructedmanymegaprojectsincludingtheLakvijayaPowerStationwhichhasbeenprovidingabout40percentofthenation鈥檚electricitysupplyandendedthescourgeoffrequentpowercutsinthecountry.AUS$700millionnaturalgaspoweredelectricalstationintheChinese-runportofHambantotawithacapacityof400-gigawattwillalsobeactivatedsoon.
EmploymentOpportunities
ChinesecompaniesunderCPECprojectshaveprovidedover100,000jobstolocalpeopleandhavehelpedtouplifttheirlivingstandardsthroughsocialwelfarecampaigns,includingrestoringandestablishingschoolsandtechnicaltrainingcenters,providinghealthfacilities,andsendinghundredsofyoungsterstoChinaforfurtherstudy.Upto800,000directjobsareestimatedtobegeneratedoverthenext15years,saystheMinistryofPlanning,DevelopmentandReform.ForPakistan,CPECwillcutunemploymentby2.32millionbytheendof2018.Seventy-fivepercentofthetotalemployeesworkinginCPECprojectsarePakistanis,contrarytothebeliefthattheChinesehaveahigherrepresentation.
SriLanka,aftertheendofthethree-decade-longwaragainsttheTamilmilitantsin2009,hadbeenlanguishingbadly.Itdirelyneededstrongsupporttoboosteconomicactivityandreducethealarmingrateofunemployment.AtthatcriticaljuncturewhenthesituationforSriLankaseemeddire,ChinacameupwiththeBRIwithasizablefundinginfluxtorebuildthestrugglingislandnation.TheColomboPortCityandFinancialCityareprovidingmorethan80,000jobs.Meanwhile,aSpecialeconomiczoneof55-sqkminHambantotawilltransformSriLankaintoaninternationalhubandimprovepeople鈥檚livelihoods.AccordingtoPabanChowdhury,BEZA鈥檚executivechairman,thespecialeconomiczonewillhavethecapacitytohouse150-200industrialunits,andwillprovide75,000jobsaswellasfocusonarangeofdifferentindustrialsectors,includingshipbuilding,pharmaceuticals,electronics,agro-business,IT,chemicals,power,andtextiles.
Bangladeshwasonceplaguedbyrampantunemployment.WiththeblessingofBCIM,joblessnessisbeingreducedasanumberofprojectsundertakenbyChinesecompaniesinBangladeshareadvancingwell.Forinstance,thefactoryofAmigoBangladeshLimitedanditsauxillaryfacilitiesarerunbytheChinaRailwayPortandChannelEngineeringGroup.ThecompanyisamajorgarmentmanufacturerinBangladesh.Theprojecthasprovidedthousandsofjobsforlocalsandtrainedengineeringandmanagementpersonnel,technicians,andequipmentoperators.
BRIisalsoplayingavitalroleinSriLanka鈥檚povertyreductioninitiative.Currently,theSriLankangovernmenthasmadeimpressiveprogressinextremepovertyreduction,andtheproportionofthepopulationinpovertyisdownto6.7percent.
TakingadvantageofBCIMrelatedprojects,Bangladeshhasmadestunningprogress.TheWorldBankadmitsthatBangladeshhassucceededinreducingpoverty.
鈥淲ithavibranteconomythathasgrownatmorethansixpercentperyearinthelastdecade,Bangladeshreducedextremepovertyto13.8percentin2016from44.2percentin1991.Thecountrynowaspirestobecomeamiddleincomecountrybyits50thanniversaryin2021,鈥漷hereportdiscloses.
YASIRHABIBKHANisaseniorjournalistworkinginCRIandChinaTodayasaspecialcontributor,andalsoafellowoftheInternationalCenterforJournalists.