Much has been written in the print media about the lack of transparency in the infrastructure projects that are part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) plan.
The opposition political parties, almost all of them, object to apparent changes in the route of the corridor and argue that this secrecy is deliberate. They say the government has hidden or changed some information in the official documents, to change public perception. The change in positions taken by Ahsan Iqbal, the minister for planning, development and reforms, since the beginning of the program is cited as evidence. On some occasions, he has argued the eastern route can be completed in a shorter amount of time, while on others, he has said the three routes will be completed simultaneously. On yet others, he has said the western route will be completed first, and will be ready by 2016.
After criticism from the opposition and the media, the government called an All Parties Conference (APC) chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad on 28th May, to explain its position on CPEC and its routes. Six months after the meeting, the opposition political parties have restarted their criticism of the government both within and outside the parliament.
In May-August 2014, a project team consisting of four different organizations from China made a monographic study on the Transport Sector Plan, with consultations and comments from relevant ministries of the Government of Pakistan. The study includes detailed maps of the corridor with the spatial scope of the plan as the reversed Y-Shape belt consisting of six major connection points – Kashgar, Islamabad, Lahore, Sukkur, Karachi and Gwadar – based on regional transport characteristics as agreed by China and Pakistan. This policy document, prepared during the PML-N’s tenure, makes no mention of the western route of the corridor. The author is not aware of any subsequent changes to this policy document in the wake of the APC.
The government’s claims of ‘prioritization of the western route and completing it by 2016’ can also be verified through fund allocations in the Federal Public Sector Development Programs (PSDP) of the ongoing and the last two fiscal years. In June 2013, at the time of the approval of the first federal budget by the PML-N government, no funds were allocated to CPEC projects. Allocations were later made to about 20 projects – some of them related to CPEC –during the fiscal year (in violation of a Supreme Court judgement on re-appropriations). Of these, Rs 25.5 billion were released just before the closing of the fiscal year on 27th June, for one project – land acquisition for the Karachi-Lahore Motorway.
In the next fiscal year, the approved budget included 22 projects that were part of CPEC, in the Communications, Ports & Shipping, Railways, and Power sector. The communications projects included five that were part of the eastern route. Rs 49 billion of the total cost of Rs 746.3 billion were allocated that year, including Rs 30 billion for land acquisition for the Karachi-Lahore Motorway. On 30th April 2015, another Rs 25.5 billion were released to complete the land acquisition. Releases were also made to the western route during that year, and to energy projects concentrated on the eastern route in the province of Punjab.
As criticism began, the very first response from government came in June 2014, in a hearing of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, when the opposition demanded to bring CPEC project to the Council of Common Interest (CCI).
The minister for planning, development and reforms confirmed the changes to the original route, with arguments that were dismissed by the opposition political parties. This led to a heavy debate in various committees of the parliament, as well as in the media.
In the May 28 APC, it was agreed that the western route of the CPEC will be a priority, and will be built by the end of 2016. The prime minister also agreed that allocations will be made to the route in the PSDP for the Fiscal Year 2015-16. The APC was called as a historic consensus. Ahsan Iqbal also promised that his Planning Commission will make a dedicated website with all the details of CPEC projects, which will be regularly updated.
But when the PSDP for the Fiscal Year 2015-16 was approved by the parliament in June 2015, it did not include increased allocations for the western route.
The PSDP document does not mention an eastern route, and instead includes ‘Western Alignment CPEC’ and ‘Northern Alignment CPEC’ projects. But in the detailed project-by-project allocations in the Communications sector, projects on the eastern route do exist, under ‘new schemes’. Other projects as old as 1999 were put under the western route, with no meaningful allocations.
Shahid Afzal Tarar, who is both secretary for communications and the chairman of the National Highway Authority, told a Senate Standing Committee that no funds had been allocated to the western route so far.
As the opposition begins to raise fresh concerns, the government will have to realize that the only way to avoid controversy and create a consensus is more transparency.
The opposition political parties, almost all of them, object to apparent changes in the route of the corridor and argue that this secrecy is deliberate. They say the government has hidden or changed some information in the official documents, to change public perception. The change in positions taken by Ahsan Iqbal, the minister for planning, development and reforms, since the beginning of the program is cited as evidence. On some occasions, he has argued the eastern route can be completed in a shorter amount of time, while on others, he has said the three routes will be completed simultaneously. On yet others, he has said the western route will be completed first, and will be ready by 2016.
After criticism from the opposition and the media, the government called an All Parties Conference (APC) chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad on 28th May, to explain its position on CPEC and its routes. Six months after the meeting, the opposition political parties have restarted their criticism of the government both within and outside the parliament.
In May-August 2014, a project team consisting of four different organizations from China made a monographic study on the Transport Sector Plan, with consultations and comments from relevant ministries of the Government of Pakistan. The study includes detailed maps of the corridor with the spatial scope of the plan as the reversed Y-Shape belt consisting of six major connection points – Kashgar, Islamabad, Lahore, Sukkur, Karachi and Gwadar – based on regional transport characteristics as agreed by China and Pakistan. This policy document, prepared during the PML-N’s tenure, makes no mention of the western route of the corridor. The author is not aware of any subsequent changes to this policy document in the wake of the APC.
The government’s claims of ‘prioritization of the western route and completing it by 2016’ can also be verified through fund allocations in the Federal Public Sector Development Programs (PSDP) of the ongoing and the last two fiscal years. In June 2013, at the time of the approval of the first federal budget by the PML-N government, no funds were allocated to CPEC projects. Allocations were later made to about 20 projects – some of them related to CPEC –during the fiscal year (in violation of a Supreme Court judgement on re-appropriations). Of these, Rs 25.5 billion were released just before the closing of the fiscal year on 27th June, for one project – land acquisition for the Karachi-Lahore Motorway.
In the next fiscal year, the approved budget included 22 projects that were part of CPEC, in the Communications, Ports & Shipping, Railways, and Power sector. The communications projects included five that were part of the eastern route. Rs 49 billion of the total cost of Rs 746.3 billion were allocated that year, including Rs 30 billion for land acquisition for the Karachi-Lahore Motorway. On 30th April 2015, another Rs 25.5 billion were released to complete the land acquisition. Releases were also made to the western route during that year, and to energy projects concentrated on the eastern route in the province of Punjab.
As criticism began, the very first response from government came in June 2014, in a hearing of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, when the opposition demanded to bring CPEC project to the Council of Common Interest (CCI).
The minister for planning, development and reforms confirmed the changes to the original route, with arguments that were dismissed by the opposition political parties. This led to a heavy debate in various committees of the parliament, as well as in the media.
In the May 28 APC, it was agreed that the western route of the CPEC will be a priority, and will be built by the end of 2016. The prime minister also agreed that allocations will be made to the route in the PSDP for the Fiscal Year 2015-16. The APC was called as a historic consensus. Ahsan Iqbal also promised that his Planning Commission will make a dedicated website with all the details of CPEC projects, which will be regularly updated.
But when the PSDP for the Fiscal Year 2015-16 was approved by the parliament in June 2015, it did not include increased allocations for the western route.
The PSDP document does not mention an eastern route, and instead includes ‘Western Alignment CPEC’ and ‘Northern Alignment CPEC’ projects. But in the detailed project-by-project allocations in the Communications sector, projects on the eastern route do exist, under ‘new schemes’. Other projects as old as 1999 were put under the western route, with no meaningful allocations.
Shahid Afzal Tarar, who is both secretary for communications and the chairman of the National Highway Authority, told a Senate Standing Committee that no funds had been allocated to the western route so far.
As the opposition begins to raise fresh concerns, the government will have to realize that the only way to avoid controversy and create a consensus is more transparency.