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The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is the most important mega project in Pakistan
after the Indus Water Works initiated in the 1960s. There is no doubt that the
Economic Corridor will be hugely beneficial to the people of Pakistan and China. The
route that the Corridor will pass through in Pakistan had, however, become a subject
of controversy, fuelled largely by lack of information. In mid-April, the Hon. Chief
Minister Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch asked CMPRU for a report on the Corridor issue. The
Report helped frame Balochistan governments position on the subject and the May
28, 2915 APC on the subject arrived at a unanimously approved decision and set all
controversy at rest.
This publication is based on the said report and is aimed at facilitating an informed
discussion by the public at large and proceedings of the relevant parliamentary
committee and working groups.
May 2015
The Team
Printed at
The Times Press - Karachi
INTRODUCTION
One of the first overt manifestations of this strategic cooperation is the 84-slide
presentation in 2006 to the then leadership in Pakistan by the then Deputy Chairman of
the Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan. Slide 29 shows a map of the
proposed route of the Economic Corridor. The map, which carries the Planning
Commission logo, can be considered the first official identification of the route planned
for the Economic Corridor. The route on the map corresponds with the route now being
referred to by the federal government as the the Central Route1.
1
The map carries the NHA (National Highway Authority) logo.
2
Gwadar to Khuzdar is also part of the proposed M-8 and an earlier version routes the motorway from
Turbat to Khuzdar via Hoshab and Awaran
Presentation to the
Hon. President and Hon. Prime Minister
ON
D.I. Khan
Chaman Qila
Saifullah Faisala Lahore
Shorkotbad Wagah
Quetta
Okara
Taftan D.G.
Lakpass Multan Mian
Khan
Nok Channu
Kundi Baha-
Sukkur Khan
Rohri
Ratodero
Turbat
Gwadar Hala
Hyderabad
Major new Industrial
Hub
Karachi
Kotri Estates / Clusters will
be set up along the
ARABIAN SEA new Trade Corridors
Subsequently, more than one version of the Corridor route has emerged. A second
route, referred to by the federal government as the Eastern Route, is stipulated to
pass through:
Gwadar-Turbat-Panjgur-Khuzdar-Ratodero-Kashmore-Rajanpur-Dera
Ghazi Khan-Multan-Faisalabad-Pindi Bhatian-Rawalpindi-Hasanabdal-
and onwards.
Following the emergence of the Eastern Route in the media, demand for a third route,
referred to as the Western Route has been put forth, particularly from north-eastern
Balochistan. This route is proposed to pass through:
Initially, the position the federal government took was that there was no
change in the route, but failed to specify what the government presumed
was the original route. This position was maintained for most of the year
since the controversy broke.
Subsequently, in 2015, the federal government took the position that there
were three routes and that all the routes would be built. This explanation
cannot be accepted as plausible; as the resources to build all three routes
are not available and China would certainly not allocate resources to
pander to political disagreements in Pakistan.
One variant, among others, of the above explanation is that the three
routes would be built in stages and that the Central and Western routes
Two possible conclusions emerge from the perusal of the Corridor case.
One, despite denials and statements to the contrary, the route has been
changed to pass through Central Punjab. And two, given that it is now
claimed that there are three routes, the priority has changed.
There are five Communications Division schemes (Serial Nos. 100-104) under the caption
China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) at a total cost of Rs. 49 billion and includes the
following:
1. Karachi-Lahore Motorway
2. Lahore-Abdul Hakeem-Khanewal section
3. Multan-Sukkur section
4. Sukkur-Hyderabad section
5. Railkot-Havelian-Islamabad section
Although, all the above schemes are listed as Un-Approved, their very inclusion is indicative
of the possibility that the Eastern Route was decided upon as far back as early 2014.
However, the PSDP 2014-15 also includes the following On-going schemes as follows:
1. Gwadar-Turbat-Hoshab section
2. Hoshab-Nag-Besima-Surab section
3. Kalat-Quetta-Chaman section
Additionally, external financing has also been arranged for the Zhob-Dera Ismail Khan
section.
However, if the objective is to boost economic activity along the route, shortest
possible distance is redefined as shortest feasible distance and can be called
an economic passageway
Cost:
Cost is determined by:
Opportunity cost of land: Land acquisition costs are likely to be higher, if the land
to be acquired for the road is productive (for example, in terms of agricultural
produce) and there is likely to be loss of output from conversion of land to the
right of way. Conversely, costs are likely to be lower in the case of barren,
unproductive land, as loss of output from conversion to right of way is likely to be
minimal.
Dislocation costs (social and monetary) are likely to be higher in the former, as
productive land is invariably more populated and a greater number of households
and businesses would require to be compensated.
Nature of terrain: The cost of constructing the road is likely to be lower if the road
runs through plains and higher if there is extensive land leveling to be carried out
and numerous bridges, culverts, tunnels, etc., are to be constructed.
Pre-existence of part of the road: Overall costs are likely to be lower if the road
alignment includes a pre-existing road, as the costs for that section would be
saved. However, the width, quality, etc., of the pre-existing road matters. If the
road is not of the width and/or quality required to carry heavy traffic, additional
lanes will need to be built and the pre-existing sections will need to be re-laid.
Political economy:
A road creates connectivity and opens up markets for local produce and provides
access for education, medical care and socialization. As such, the route that a
road alignment takes confers benefits upon the people of the area to the
exclusion of those away from the alignment. Pulls and pressures with regard to
the alignment are, therefore, understandable.
Lack of access to markets and to employment, educational, health and
socialization opportunities in some areas defines as regional inequality and, in
most cases, constitutes the basis of disaffection and insurgency; creating
conditions for higher security costs.
The above comparative statistics are indicative of higher value of land and higher
population densities implying higher cost of land acquisition and higher dislocation
compensation cost with respect to the Eastern Route relative to the Western Route
and even the Central Route.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
A comparative analysis of the three routes with respect to the above precepts indicates
that:
Central Route Eastern Route Western Route
The Central Route is likely to be The Eastern Route is likely to be The Western Route is likely to
longer than the Western Route, but longer than the Central Route be shorter than the Central
shorter than the Eastern Route. and the Eastern Route. Route and the Eastern Route.
The alignment will open up Except for backward areas of The alignment will open up
economic opportunities for a vast south and central Balochistan, economic opportunities for a
swathe of abjectly backward regions northern Sindh and southern vast swathe of abjectly
of the country. Punjab, more than half the backward regions of the country.
distance will pass through
relatively developed areas of
Central Punjab.
The area covered by the alignment The area from Multan to The area covered by the
is relatively unproductive and Rawalpindi is highly productive alignment is relatively
population density is low. The cost and densely populated. The unproductive and population
of land acquisition and population cost of land acquisition and density is low. The cost of land
dislocation compensation is likely to population dislocation acquisition and population
be lower. compensation is likely to be dislocation compensation is
higher. likely to be lower.
The terrain along the alignment is The alignment will cross the The terrain along the alignment
arid and hilly and would entail higher River Indus between Dera Ghazi is arid and hilly and would entail
land leveling costs. The alignment Khan and Multan and require a higher land leveling costs. The
will cross the River Indus between major bridge. The area is alignment will cross the River
Peshawar and Hasanabdal and will traversed by a number of Indus between Peshawar and
require a major bridge. irrigation canals and will require Hasanabdal and will require a
a number of bridges. major bridge.
Except for the Gwadar-Ratodero Except for the Gwadar-Ratodero Except for the Gwadar-Khuzdar
section, a road pre-exists, but is section, a road pre-exists, but section, a road pre-exists, but is
narrow and low quality, and will most sections will need to be narrow and low quality, and will
need to be re-laid in its entirety. widened and re-laid to cater to need to be re-laid in its entirety.
the heavy traffic in terms of
volume and load.
The alignment is not likely to require The alignment will cross the The alignment is not likely to
diversion on account of Margalla Hills a national park require diversion on account of
environmental or military reasons. and a tunnel underneath is environmental or military
being considered. Recourse to reasons.
the courts on environmental
grounds is certain and likely to
delay the project.
Security costs will be higher on The Ratodero-Hasanabdal Security costs will be higher on
account of insurgencies in section is relatively secure; as account of insurgencies in
Balochistan and FATA. such, the alignment is likely to Balochistan and FATA.
entail lower security costs.
The alignment passes through all The alignment completely The alignment passes through
the provinces of Pakistan and likely bypasses the province of only two provinces of Pakistan.
to command broad political support. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and is
likely to emerge as a new
source of inter-provincial
discord.
The Western Route is likely to be the shortest and least cost in terms of opportunity cost
and dislocation compensation cost. By comparison, the Eastern Route is likely to be
the most expensive in terms of land acquisition and dislocation compensation.
Arguments that pre-existing sections therein are likely to save time and costs are not
tenable, as most sections will have to be widened and re-laid to cater to the volume and
load of the traffic that is likely to be generated.
The Eastern Route is also likely to be politically divisive and emerge as a source of
political instability and carries the danger of imperiling the entire Corridor plan. If
selection of the Eastern Route is made on grounds that the Western and Central
routes carry security risks, then security considerations today will be traded for inter-
provincial discord and political instability in the future. Security considerations are
important, of course; however, bombardment of disaffected areas with jobs is a better
option than bombardment with drones.
The importance of the project demands that the controversy be resolved at the earliest
and a compromise solution that meets the aspirations of all the provinces is called for.
One way forward could be to adopt:
A combination of routes, traversing all the provinces of the country can lead to a
highway of national integration and stability.
Postscript
The APC decision
The All Party Conference of May 28, 2015 unanimously decided to adopt a modified
Western Route that would pass through:
Gwadar-Turbat-Hoshab-Panjgur-Besima-Kalat-Quetta-Qila Saifullah-Zhob-Dera
Ismail Khan-Mianwali-Attock-Hasanabdal-and onwards
This route is superior to all other options in terms of opportunity cost of land and
dislocation compensation costs, as shown below.
The Western2 Route passes through some of the most inaccessible and
underdeveloped areas of the country and is likely to prove critical to the development of
the area, particularly in terms of opening up to market centres, and generation of
employment opportunities.