The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor project or CPEC has been the centre of attention lately. The average Pakistani may know what the CPEC is, but what the average Pakistani does not know is whether or not CPEC is beneficial for Pakistan. The LUMS Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB) organised a talk by Dr. Bob Wheeler, former Dean KSBL Karachi, to educate the average person about the implications of CPEC. The talk was attended by several students and SDSB faculty members.
According to Dr. Wheeler CPEC offers Pakistan a solution to its energy crisis with the most notable statistic being that it will solve 80% of Pakistan’s energy crisis. CPEC has been predicted to create 700,000 direct jobs and add up to 2 to 2.5 percentage points to the country's annual economic growth. Dr. Wheeler reiterated the fact that CPEC is an upheaval to Pakistan’s economic growth and will fully allow Pakistan to reach its economic potential. CPEC also helps Pakistan’s education sector as training centres have been built in Gwadar and plan are underway to open universities along the route. Dr. Wheeler also had concerns regarding the project, notably pointing out that the project finances had a ‘lack of transparency’. The statistics regarding the loans, interest rates, expected completion time have not been made clear to the general public. However, a more worrying concern was that with China’s partnership in this project, the local markets and labourers should expect fierce competition. Although CPEC will create jobs, it will also hinder some aspects of Pakistan’s economy.
The question remains, is CPEC a game changer? Dr. Wheeler genuinely believes that it will be a game changer for Pakistan. He supported the idea of Pakistan re-socialising towards China instead of the best and gathered that this friendship will ultimately be more beneficial for Pakistan. He also held the opinion that the provincial governments play a bigger role than the federal government in this project and provincial governments must turn towards this project. Dr. Wheeler’s talk was followed by a question-answer session where Dr. Wheeler answered many queries put forward by the avid audience.
Content courtesy: Faez Noor, BSc Economics 2020
