China did not fund any infrastructure projects of CPEC, says Pakistan

Beijing has not funded any infrastructure project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative, said the Senate Special Committee on CPEC projects.

According to a report by The Express Tribune, during the committee meeting Senator Sikandar Mandhro, chief of transport planning at the Pakistan Planning Ministry, said because of the absence of the CPEC funding, some projects, including the Khuzdar-Basima project, were being carried out from the federal development funds.

Meanwhile, Committee member Senator Kabir Ahmad Shahi informed that only paperwork was carried out on CPEC.

"The project started in a way that a tent was set up with a watchman sitting there. The fence around the New Gwadar International Airport is a shambles," he said.

Moreover, the projects under the Gwadar Smart Port City Master plan have not been started.

In 2015, China announced an economic project in Pakistan worth USD 46 billion. With the CPEC, Beijing aims to expand its influence in Pakistan and across Central and South Asia in order to counter the influence of the United States and India.

The CPEC would link Pakistan's southern Gwadar port (626 kilometers, 389 miles west of Karachi) in Balochistan on the Arabian Sea to China's western Xinjiang region. It also includes plans to create road, rail and oil pipeline links to improve connectivity between China and the Middle East.

( With inputs from ANI )