27 April 2023: Ten years after $46B CPEC was announced, Pakistan may receive a new $58B rail link as China's BRI project. The 3,000km rail link will connect Gwadar port in Pakistan to the Chinese city of Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Source: Fox News and SCMP.

3 April 2023: After three years of closure, border trade and travel resume today from China-Pakistan border at Khun­jerab Pass under the China-Pakistan Eco­nomic Corridor (CPEC).

3 November 2022: 46 Chinese-made wide gauge railway coaches have been loaded in China's Tianjin Port and will be shipped to Pakistan on Thursday, marking the first time China will have exported its technology for constructing railway coaches capable of speeds of 160km per hour, China's Consul General in Karachi tweeted.

1 November 2022: PM Shehbaz Sharif leaves for China on a two-day official visit. Ministers Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Saad Rafique and Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah are accompanying him. PM says the discussions with the Chinese leadership will focus on the “revitalisation of the CPEC. CPEC projects were delayed during the previous government’s tenure.

31 October 2022: The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) approves two infrastructure projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - the $10 billion Main Line-I (ML-I) project of Pakistan Railways and the $1.3 billion Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project. 

25 October 2020: After a delay of nearly three years, the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) starts its commercial service. As an early harvest project under CPEC, the Orange Line was constructed by China State Railway Group Co Ltd and China North Industries Corporation and was operated by Guangzhou Metro Group, Norinco International and Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service. 27 energy-saving electric trains, each comprising five air-conditioned wagons, with the operating speed of 80km per hour, provides a comfortable, secure and economical traveling facility to 250,000 passengers daily, according to Xinhua. Our separate story here.

5 Aug 2020: The ECNEC approves the $6.8 billion ML-I railway project under CPEC. Pakistan’s existing 2,655 km railway tracks will be upgraded to allow trains to move up to 165km per hour - twice as fast as they currently do - while the line capacity will increase from 34 to over 150 trains each way per day. Groundbreaking will happen in February 2021, and the project will complete by 2030.

5 Nov 2019: Pakistan and China set a new ↓ direction of CPEC by largely shifting away from infrastructure projects, except the $9 billion Main Line-I (ML-I) project. Other decisions to expand the CPEC scope to copper, gold, and oil and gas sectors were taken during the 9th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting in Islamabad.

28 April 2019: List of Agreements signed during PM IK's visit to Beijing for BRF 2019, according to Chinese Embassy in Islamabad

1. CPFTA-II (China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement Phase II)

3. Declaration of Completion of Preliminary Design Phase-I on Upgradation of ML-I

4. China-Pakistan Economic & Technological Cooperation Agreement

5. MOU on CPEC Social Economic Cooperation

10 September 2018: PM Imran Khan establishes a nine-member committee to evaluate CPEC projects. It is scheduled to meet for the first time this week and will “think through CPEC – all of the benefits and the liabilities”, says Abdul Razak Dawood, who sits on the new committee, and is advisor to PM on commerce, textiles, industry and investment.

“I think we should put everything on hold for a year so we can get our act together,” he added. “Perhaps we can stretch CPEC out over another five years or so.”

Several other officials and advisers concur that extending the terms of CPEC loans and spreading projects out over a longer timeframe is the preferred option, rather than outright cancellation. – says a news report in Financial Times, London.

13 July: Pakistan and China inaugurate the optic fibre cable that has been laid to provide direct link between Pakistan, the Middle Asia and East Asia. Caretaker PM Nasirul Mulk, Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing were present at the inauguration ceremony in Islamabad.

The cable connects Rawalpindi with Khunjerab on the Pakistan-China border at an altitude of 4,700 meters, the highest fibre cable project in the world. Later, the cable will be extended to Gwadar, which will fully connect Pakistan and China.

Total cost was estimated at $44 million and Exim Bank of China provided 85% of loan at a concessionary rate. Construction work on the project started in March 2016 and ended in June 2018. The cable covers an area of 820km. There are 26 microwave transmission nodes from Rawalpindi to Karimabad and 171 km of aerial fibre cable from Karimabad to Khunjerab as a back-up. – Express Tribune.

7 March 2018: A first commercial shipment carrying containers of seafood from Gwadar leaves for Dubai’s Jebel Ali port. With this, China’s state-owned shipping and logistics services supplier, China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), starts a weekly container shipping service from Gwadar Port every Wednesday.

18 Dec: The CPEC Long Term Plan (LTP) approved by both Chinese and Pakistani governments has been unveiled in Islamabad. According to Chinese Embassy tweets:

By 2020, the CPEC will take the initial shape, major bottlenecks to Pakistan’s economic and social development will be addressed, and the CPEC will start to boost the economic growth along it for both countries.

By 2025, the CPEC building phase done, the industrial system nearly complete, major economic functions brought into play in a holistic way, the people’s livelihood along the CPEC significantly improved and regional economic development more balanced.

By 2030, the CPEC building phase to be entirely accomplished, endogenous mechanism for sustainable economic growth in place, CPEC’s role in stimulating economic growth in Central and South Asia brought into holistic play, and South Asia to grow into international economic zone with global influence.

The LTP has an ambitious goal and an arduous task. As long as governments and people of two countries treat each other with all sincerity and cooperate sincerely, they will build CPEC into an open, inclusive one with economic prosperity, social stability and security, and wellbeing of people.

The LTP will provide macro guidance for implementation of CPEC in next phase. The plan will be adjusted based on real situation as well as the consensus between two parties during its implementation in future. New routes/ nodes/ aspects may be considered in future by mutual agreement.

21 Nov: The 7th Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting on CPEC is being held today in Islamabad.

8 Nov: The 7th Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting on CPEC will be held on 21 Nov in Islamabad. It will approve nine Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to be constructed along CPEC. The planned nine SEZs with special incentive packages for foreign investors will be operational by 2025. 

Financing agreements on three road projects – remaining portion of Karakoram Highway (KKH), D.I. Khan to Zhob and Khuzdar to Basima will be signed at the meeting. It is likely that CPEC long term plan will also be approved at JCC. In addition, Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project may also be placed for final approval.

7 Nov: President Mamnoon Hussain inaugurates Bank of China’s operations in Pakistan, says China has emerged as a major investor and partner for Islamabad. Bank of China Chairman Chen Siqing says the Karachi branch is its first in South Asia.

18 Oct: A delegation of Chinese experts and investors was in Pakistan during 11-18 October to explore new trade avenues and investment opportunities in 9 SEZs. They held workshops and meeting in Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Islamabad organised by the Board of Investment (BoI). They also visited SEZs in Punjab, Sindh, Rawalpindi, Gilgit-Baltistan and Gwadar Port Industrial Zone in Balochistan.

8 Sept: PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi forms an 11-member Cabinet Committee on CPEC, overhauling the existing institutional arrangement and bypassing the planning ministry. The CPEC committee members are finance minister, interior minister, foreign minister, railways minister, ports and shipping minister, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Economic Affairs Dr Miftah Ismail, Secretary to the Prime Minister Fawad Hassan Fawad, the Federal Board of Revenue chairman, and the Secretaries of Planning and Cabinet divisions.

13 July: 46 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will be established along side the CPEC route in the long run, Board of Investment (BoI) chairman Dr Miftah Ismail tells Pakistan-China Industrial Cooperation Dialogue. Nine zones (see below) have already been declared prioritised during the 6th JCC meeting held in December 2016.

12 July: Speaking at a two-day CPEC Logistics International Forum (CLIF) in Islamabad organised by army’s NLC (National Logistics Cell), Pakistan’s army chief General Qamar Bajwa says CPEC will be a game changer. Assuring the project’s continuity and security, he says the army will fully guard the CPEC plan.

11 July: Li Xuedoung, DG, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China, says the plan to upgrade ML-I, the main railway track joining Peshawar with Karachi, is a key priority of the working agenda under CPEC. Li meets Khawja Saad Rafique, Minister for Railways at his office.

The ML-I upgradation project will be completed in five years at the cost of $8 billion. China will provide $5.5 billion while $2.5 billion will come from Asian Development Bank (ADB).

3 July: The 1320MW Sahiwal Coal-Fired Power Plant (Units 1 & 2) – CPEC’s one of early-harvest projects – is completed ahead of time in 22 months and goes into operation. Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif and a Chinese minister inaugurate it, with Chinese ambassador in attendance.

28 May: First round of China-Afghanistan-Pakistan practical cooperation dialogue is held in Beijing. The dialogue is co-chaired by Mansoor Ahmed Khan, Xiao Qian and Khalid Payenda. Three sides appreciate CPEC and its benefits for promoting regional connectivity.

28 May: MoU is signed with China for upgradation of Peshawar to Karachi Railway line called ML-I as the federal government allocates over Rs 42 billion in new budget to reinvigorate railways network.

25 May: The 660MW Sahiwal Coal-Fired Power Plant (Unit 1) – one of CPEC’s early harvest projects – becomes operational today. PM Sharif inaugurates it. Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif is a force behind its earlier-than-scheduled completion.

12 May: PM Sharif and the four chief ministers arrive in Beijing to attend Belt and Road Forum on 14-15 May where they are likely to sign various MoUs.

11 May: Pakistan’s Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) approves Gwadar East Bay Expressway.

Addressing a public gathering in Gwadar, PM Sharif says 1,100km roads are being constructed in Balochistan

Federal Minister SAFRON Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch says more than 60 countries are willing to invest in Gwadar

PM announces to build a university and a 300-beds hospital in Gwadar

14 March: Construction work on Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project will start soon: PM Sharif speaking in Karachi

7 March: A team of Chinese engineers is in Quetta to start work on the Quetta Mass Transit Train (QMTT) Project. After a feasibility report, the Chinese firm has sought an NOC from the government to start work on 48km QMTT from Spezant to Kuchlak. In the current budget, the Balochistan government has allocated Rs 1 billion for QMTT feasibility. In December, the project was included in CPEC at 6th JCC in Beijing. The QMTT funds will come from CPEC kitty.

6 March: The federal government plans to build a CPEC Tower in Islamabad. As a sign of Pak-China friendship, the tallest building in the capital will serve as a symbol of socioeconomic progress Pakistan is making across all fronts and will attract investors.

5 Feb: CPEC is now worth $57 billion, according to Reuters news agency. Other agencies term the current projects valued at $51 billion.

3 Feb: PM Sharif inaugurates the completed first 75km-section of the 136km six-lane Karachi-Hyderabad (M-9) Motorway. The sections 2 and 3 will be completed by March and July respectively by FWO.

As part of Peshawar-Lahore-Karachi motorway route, M-9 will connect Karachi with the rest of the country and also facilitate the CPEC traffic. According to one guesstimate, once completed, CPEC-related toll tax collection may amount to a couple of billion dollars a year.

January:  9 CPEC Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

Under next development phase, nine CPEC Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are being set up in the country, as agreed in the 6th JCC in Beijing on 29 Dec last year.

Of these, two industrial zones are being set up by the federal government in Islamabad and Karachi. The rest of seven are established each in Punjab, Sindh, KP, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Fata and Azad Kashmir. Here are details:

Federal 1: ICT Model Industrial Zone, Islamabad

Federal 2: Development of Industrial Park on Pakistan Steel Mills Land at Port Qasim near Karachi

Punjab: Punjab-China Economic Zone, M-2 Sheikhupura district

27 Jan: In a major development, which is a milestone in its execution, Sahiwal Power Plant has been connected with the national grid (500KVA Line). It is six months ahead of schedule. First coal-laden 1,500-tonnes freight train arrives at Sahiwal coal power plant from Port Qasim Karachi on 1 Feb. Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif receives.

3 Jan: Milestone: Another big Chinese ship visits Gwadar Port. After three years of maintenance and renovation, the port is restored to its designed capacity. Gwadar Free Zone is now under construction: Lijian Zhao, DCM, Chinese Embassy

30 Dec: Under CPEC’s next development phase, nine industrial zones will be set up in the country, the 6th JCC in Beijing agreed. Of these, two industrial zones will be set up by the federal government in Islamabad and Karachi, while the rest of seven will be established each in Punjab, Sindh, KP, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Fata and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK).

29 Dec: The sixth meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) in Beijing approves inclusion of these projects in CPEC framework: Karachi Circular Railways, Keti Bunder sea port development project and Diamer-Basha Dam.

It also agrees on Mass Transit Railways projects in each of the provincial headquarters to facilitate millions of people besides setting up SEZs.

New road projects on the western route were also approved. These include 136km Thakot-Raikot (remaining portion of N-35) in addition to 118km KKH Phase II (Thakot-Havelian section); and upgradation of 210km D.I.Khan-Zhob (N-50 Phase-I).

In Balochistan, 210km dual carriageway from Yarik to Zhob and 110km Khuzdar-Basima N-30 road will be built.

Chitral CPEC link road from Gilgit, Shandor, Chitral to Chakdara

Mirpur-Muzaffarabad-Mansehra road construction for connectivity with CPEC route

Naukundi-Mashkhel-Panjgur road project connecting with M-8 & N-85

Quetta water supply scheme from Pat feeder canal, Balochistan

Iron ore mining, processing & steel mills complex at Chiniot, Punjab

During 2013-2016, the JCC on CPEC held six meetings:

19 Dec: A gate-free and signal-free 1,872km railway track from Karachi to Peshawar (ML-I) costing $8.2 billion will be constructed: Railways Minister

14 Dec: In Turbat, PM Sharif inaugurate 448km N-85 Sorab-Hoshab road on the Western route of CPEC. The road, upgraded by FWO at a cost of Rs 22 billion, will link Gwadar Port with N-25 National Highway near Sorab/Quetta.

14 Dec: A Chinese cargo ship is arriving at Gwadar on 15 December. The cargo is for business centre in Gwadar Free Zone (GFZ).

13 Dec: Pakistan Navy assembles a Task Force-88 (TF-88) for the seaward security of Gwadar port, organises a maritime conference on CPEC attended by all service chiefs and CJCSC. Snippets by Andrew Small:

Chinese ambassador, speaking in Gwadar: CPEC has already created 10,000 jobs in Pakistan, including 400 in Gwadar.

DG, GDA: The whole of the Gwadar Master Plan Area will be declared as a Special Economic Zone on the Shenzhen model, not just the Free Zone.

An authentic and documented timeline of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) from 2013-2023 by IMC and China Center (chinacenter.today)

CPEC fact sheet: 2013-2023 by IMC & China Center

Do you know what are the top native and first languages in Pakistan?

English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and all others 8%

The above data is from CIA Pakistan Factbook 2023. CIA stats include only first native languages.

The data usually surprises many because without data, we have stereotypical notions about facts and issues, usually driven by a false media narrative, built over the years.

Want to read more about Pakistani languages? Try wiki (no authenticity promised).

A full breakdown of all languages in Pakistan on this Ethnologue website.

What are the top native and first languages in Pakistan? Check here.

Native and first languages in Pakistan

Center for International Development at Harvard University (CID) is a useful resource in predicting economic growth over the next 10 years. 

Back in 2016 before Panama happened in Pakistan, and we had broken the story for Express Tribune in 2017, Pakistan GDP was predicted to grow by 6 percent over 10 years, according to CID. In 2022, the CID's Growth Projections foresee GDP growth in ⁨Pakistan⁩ of ⁨4.3%⁩ annually over the coming decade.

What most Pakistani readers do not know is that CID’s Atlas of Economic Complexity has some very useful data visualisations on Pakistan’s exports since 1995.

Since many people do not access CID website and they come to this blog for visual information on Pakistan economy, we have taken the liberty of reproducing screen grabs of these past years of Pakistan exports.

Similarly, we can also see which destinations Pakistan export to. In 2020, top three destinations were: US, China and Germany (image below). Source: Harvard CID Atlas.

What is the share of the global market Pakistan exports capture? Below is the snapshot from CID Harvard.

Another useful resource is MIT’s The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) which produces similar data visualisations. An OEC summary of Pakistan as an exporting country is produced below. The annual export dollar amounts reported may differ between Harvard and MIT visualisations. Please check out their methodology.

According to OEC, in 2020, the top exports of Pakistan are House Linens ($3.61B), Rice ($2.14B), Non-Knit Men's Suits ($1.8B), Non-Knit Women's Suits ($1.06B), and Knit Sweaters ($950M), exporting mostly to USA and Europe/UK.

Top 50 exporters of Pakistan in 2022 / Wali Zahid

Check out Pakistan exports at a glance during 2013-20

Pakistan exports at a glance 2013-20

Lahore tops the world ranking for worst air quality today, according to AirVisual, the real-time air quality map. Karachi comes at Number 4.

The top ten worst ranked cities include two Indian cities - Delhi and Kolkata. The Air Quality Index (AQI) 2022 top 10 cities ranking also includes Baghdad in Iraq and Mongolian capital. It includes three cities from China: Chongqing, Chengdu and Wuhan.

Globally, South Asian cities are far from providing healthy air to their citizens. Bad air quality decreases average life expectancy besides being a source of the spread of diseases.

Since the AQI ranking is real-time, the city ranking may change as the air quality changes.

Every year in early winters, Lahore and adjoining cities are hit by smog. See, above photo.

See also: Faisalabad world’s 3rd dirtiest city; Lahore 10th

Lahore tops world ranking for worst air quality in Air Quality Index (AQI) 2022

Lahore tops world ranking for worst air quality

Breaking: Pakistan is projected to be the sixth largest economy in the world by 2075, a Goldman Sachs paper covering 104 countries has said.

Titled ‘The Path to 2075' by economists Kevin Daly and Tadas Gedminas, the paper projected that Pakistan's population growth could place it among the largest economies, provided it is able to deal with risks of 'environmental catastrophe' and 'populist nationalism.'

According to Goldman Sachs, the largest five economies by 2075 will be:

According to Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs Group economists have taken a stab at predicting the path of the world economy through 2075.

Two decades since they famously outlined long-term growth projections for the so-called BRIC economies, the economists now led by Jan Hatzius expanded their projections to encompass 104 countries over the next half-century.

Global growth will average just under 3% a year over the next decade, down from 3.6% in the decade before the financial crisis, and will be on a gradually declining path afterwards, reflecting a slowing of labor force growth.

Emerging markets will continue to converge with industrial nations as China, the US, India, Indonesia and Germany top the league table of largest economies when measured in dollars. Nigeria, Pakistan and Egypt could also be among the biggest.

With data, the future is different | Wali Zahid | TEDxNUSTKarachi

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: Wali Zahid

Against doomsayers who predict default, Pakistan is set to rise... and rise

Pakistan projected to be 6th largest economy by 2075: Goldman Sachs

Karachi is the world’s 6th cheapest city, according to The Economist. The EIU 2022 Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) Index has ranked 172 cities in the world. Karachi has been ranked 167th cheapest. Damascus (Syria) and Tripoli (Libya) are the world's cheapest cities to live and eat in the 2022 ranking.

The above ranking is bottom-up, Damascus being the cheapest.

At the other end, Singapore and New York are the most expensive cities in the world.

The most expensive cities in the world 2022

Pakistan's Karachi is the world’s 6th cheapest city in The Economist ranking of 172 global cities

Karachi is the world’s 6th cheapest city

Here are the top 10 exporters of Pakistan in FY 2022 with exports amounts in million US dollars and million PKR.

Style Textile from Lahore topped the list, with exports worth PKR 109 billion. Another firm from Lahore, Nishat Mills, stood second, with exports worth PKR 72 billion. Faisalabad's Interloop Limited stood at Number 3 with exports worth PKR 72 billion.

The Top 10 list has six firms from Karachi, two each from Lahore and Faisalabad.

You can view the top 50 and top 100 exporters at this link.

Top 50 exporters from Pakistan in FY 2022

You can also view Pakistan exports at a glance from 2013-2020, with graphics from Harvard CID here.

Top 10 exporters of Pakistan in FY 2022

Who are the biggest 100 exporters from Pakistan in FY 2022?

Check this exporters list from Pakistan and their exports worth in million Pakistani rupees and in million US dollars in FY 20202 in a downloadable format.

These are the top names that produce and export items - like textiles and rice - Pakistan is known for, and bring critical foreign exchange Pakistan needs to meet its fuel and other import needs.

Style Textile topped the ranking consecutively for the third year, the only company with a three-digit billion-figure. Nishat Mills Limited rose to second position at 72B. With 71B, Interloop Limited grabbed number 3 position. Artistic Milliners, Yunus Textile Mills and Soorty Enterprises grabbed number 4, 5 and 6 positions respectively,  beating Gul Ahmed Textile Mills to number 7 position.

The ranking is based on NTN GD filing (Goods Declaration) In Weboc from 1 July 2021 to 27 June 2022. 

Top 100 exporters from Pakistan in FY 2022

Artistic Garment Industries (Private) Limited

Meskay & Femtee Trading Company (Private) Limited

Pak Petro-Chemical Industries (Private) Limited

Indus Dyeing & Manufacturing Company Limited

Sarena Textile Industries (Private)Limited

Mustaqim Dyeing Printing Industries (Private) Limited

Akhtar Textile Industries (Private)Limited

Afroze Textiles Industries (Private) Limited

Want to see list of top 50 or top 100 exporters of Pakistan in FY 2022? walizahid.com is the-go-to place.

Top 50 exporters of Pakistan in 2022

PM Shehbaz Sharif inaugurates Islamabad Green Line Bus service from Bhara Kahu to PIMS and Blue Line from Koral to PIMS. The Green and Blue services will link with the Red Line (Pindi-Islamabad Metro). From Faiz Ahmad Faiz bus stop near Peshawar Morr, the passengers can take Orange Line to Islamabad International Airport.

Peshawar Morr to Islamabad Airport Orange Line Metro bus route has been made operational today. Earlier, this was planned to be operational in 2018. 

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the mass transit bus, PM Shehbaz Sharif said the journey of Pakistan’s progress has resumed after a four-year halt during PTI tenure.

This is also the first mass-transit connection to an airport in Pakistan. Previously, passengers would access all airports with taxis or private cars. The commuters all over the world have multiple ways to reach their city airports. Glad that this anomaly has ended.

Lahore: 29 October 2016 | Original article starts

In a matter of three years (2013-16), citizens in three of its large cities – Lahore (population: 11 million), Rawalpindi-Islamabad (population: 3.1 million twin cities combined) and recently-inaugurated in Multan (population: 1.9 million) – are able to travel in clean, safe and air-conditioned Metro buses on dedicated road tracks on a 20¢ fare which is a fraction of what commuters pay in the developed world.

But we don’t need to get too self-congratulatory. In our neighbourhood, India is building a bullet train that will start work in September 2017 and will take five years to complete.

While in Pakistan, with the current infrastructure, in a 2017 population of 208 million, fewer than a million a day will be able to ride these BRT buses.

Three small-length Metro bus routes in three cities only means that a large – very very large – population still uses public transport which is unreliable, decayed, unsafe and hurts your self esteem long before you reach your school, university, office or get back home.

In spite of the small scale, Metro bus is a good beginning.

And Pakistanis look forward to the whole country being wired in a network of mass-transit buses, Metro trains and intercity rail.

25 October 2020: After a delay of nearly three years, the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) starts its commercial service.

16 May 2018: Test run ceremony of OLMT is held today at Islam Park station. CM Shehbaz Sharif is chief guest.

27 Feb 2018: History in the making: The Lahore citizens see a trial run of OLMT.

14 Nov 2017: $687 million Quetta Mass Transit: Chinese Policy Bank will give loan to Pakistan amounting to 85 percent of project at a 3% interest rate. In March, a team of Chinese engineers and experts arrives in Quetta to start work on the project, approved under CPEC.

6 May: PM Sharif performs groundbreaking of Metro Bus connecting New Islamabad Airport with Peshawar Mor, saying modern infrastructure including airports, highways and transport system is hallmark of a dignified nation. Earlier, on 13 April, Metro Bus project extension was approved at a cost of Rs 16.9 billion for construction of 25.6km with 24 bus stations.

29 March: Asian Development Bank (ADB) agrees to provide Rs 50 billion soft loan for Peshawar’s Rs 57B Metro bus rapid transit (BRT). Part of BRT is likely to complete by June of 2018.

20 March: Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif launches 14 feeder routes that will run 200 automatic air-conditioned buses connecting passengers from areas around Metro bus stations spreading 129km.

10 Jan 2017: PM Sharif issues directives to connect the Islamabad Metro Bus with the New Islamabad International Airport. The project may cost Rs 18 billion and will add 14 bus stations along the route – from Peshawar Morr to New Islamabad Airport.

The new Metro Bus service will most likely start in August 2018.

29 Dec 2016: The sixth meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) in Beijing approves inclusion of these mass-transit projects in CPEC framework: Karachi Circular Railways and mass transit railways projects in each of the provincial headquarters to facilitate millions of people.

25 Nov: PM Sharif arrives in Ashgabat on a two-day official visit to Turkmenistan. Sharif is leading a Pakistani delegation to the first-ever Global Conference on Sustainable Transport – 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – being held at Ashgabat under the auspices of the United Nations.

Then, these are road and railway transport routes being developed from scratched or upgraded under CPEC. Source: Bloomberg

The next in line of mass-transit projects is Lahore’s 27km Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT, a Mass Rapid Transit, or MRT, project).

Built at the cost of Rs 154 billion, the train service is set to launch in August 2018 (delayed). Over 250,000 people will travel by Orange Line train every day through 26 train stations.

OLMT is currently facing delays because of a court order stopping civil works near 11 heritage sites that need to be protected. A review is under way.

One additional feature will be provision of free public WiFi service through 192 hotspots in three Punjab cities running Metro buses including Metro stations. PTCL is managing this WiFi service.

Then comes Karachi’s 21.7km Green Line Metro bus service (BRT) at a cost of Rs 24.6 billion through a federal grant. The construction work has hit many snags, with much of civil works from Surjani Town to Guru Mandir now complete by May 2018.

Green Line is set to start service by August of 2018, although there are snags on who will operate it. Nearly 350,000 passengers will use the service daily through 25 bus stations.

Green Line in Karachi (population: 15 million) is likely to be followed by 26km Yellow Line Metro bus service (BRT), a Sindh government project, at a cost of Rs 14.4 billion.

The Yellow Line will be financed by a Chinese loan (70 percent) and built by a Chinese firm, CUEC. It has yet to start constructing. About 150,000 passengers will use the service daily through 24 bus stations.

In October 2016, the federal government’s Central Development Working Party (CDWP) approved to conduct an engineering design of the Peshawar BRT project at a cost of Rs 1.25 billion.

The provincial KPK government had to seek CDWP’s approval due to the Rs 32 billion project’s foreign funding.

In its sixth meeting at the end of December 2016 in Beijing, the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) approved inclusion of these projects in CPEC framework: Karachi Circular Railways (KCR) and Mass Transit Railways (MTR) projects in each provincial headquarters to facilitate millions of people.

In Lahore, the Metro bus service – the first in the country – was inaugurated on 10 February 2013.

The 27km Lahore Metro cost Rs 30 billion. Through 27 stations, nearly 200,000 passengers travel on Lahore Metro BRT buses every day.

In Islamabad, the 23km Metro bus service started on 4 June 2015. The inauguration went five months behind schedule because of political protests, organised by opposition PTI.

The Islamabad Metro cost Rs 44.7 billion. Through 24 stations, nearly 135,000 passengers travel on Islamabad Metro BRT buses every day.

While this BRT road and MRT train infrastructure is being built, the Pakistan Railways have tried to fix some of the intercity rail services.

E-ticketing has started on all railcar trains between Lahore and Rawalpindi and on Green Line Train from Islamabad to Karachi.

The Green Line train which covers 1,521km in just over 23 hours is creating an on-time reliable service. A reliable on-time train was unthinkable only a couple of years ago.

To upgrade the main railway line (ML-1) from Karachi to Peshawar including dualisation, the Chinese government and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have agreed to to lend Pakistan $8 billion. This is massive.

Government subsidies on mass-transit services

Maintenance of infrastructure, buses and trains

Upgrading, extension of infrastructure, buses and trains

Security of infrastructure during political protests and terror attacks

So, which cities need to be next in waiting for mass-transit transport?

If population is any criterion, Hyderabad (pop: 1.7 million) and Sukkur in Sindh; Faisalabad (pop: 3.2 million), Gujranwala (pop: 2 million), Sargodha and Sialkot in Punjab; Peshawar (pop: 2 million) in KPK; and Quetta (pop: 1 million) in Balochistan make the cut.

The UN estimates Pakistan as the sixth most populous country now (208 million) and in 2050 (310 million).

With a GDP of $300 billion, Pakistan is world’s 40th largest economy by GDP and 24th by GDP PPP. It is forecasted to grow to become 18th largest economy by GDP in 2050 and 16th largest by GDP PPP.

As part of China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, the north-south $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) connecting Chinese city of Kashgar bordering Pakistan’s north to Gwadar port in the south perhaps could set this city and intercity transport network in motion as a byproduct.

If this happens, the Pakistani landscape may look very different and semi-developed when the CPEC comes to full fruition in 2030.

A snapshot of completed and ongoing mass transit transport projects in Pakistan

Mass-transit transport in urban Pakistan taking shape

Who are the top 20 exporters from Pakistan in 2020-21?

First six-monthly results of fiscal 2020-21 are in. Check this exporters list from Pakistan and their exports worth in USD in first half of FY 2020-21.

Wali Zahid

Pakistan

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Mass-transit transport in urban Pakistan taking shape

Top 20 exporters of Pakistan in 2020-21

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