Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin. Photo: VCG

 
The smooth handover of Sukkur-Multan Motorway, the largest transportation infrastructure project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – epitomizes progress in building the CPEC by overcoming negative impacts of the global pandemic, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing on Tuesday.

“China stands ready to work together with Pakistan to act on our leaders' consensus and while continuing existing projects, shift more energy onto cooperation in areas like social welfare, industry and agriculture, so as to turn the CPEC into a demonstration project of high quality BRI development and bring more benefits to people in both countries and beyond,” Wang said, noting that “the CPEC can better benefit the two countries and people in the region.”

The remarks came as the Sukkur-Multan Motorway was officially handed over to the Pakistani side last week.

The 392-km motorway, also known as M5 in Pakistan, is a part of the country’s Peshawar-Karachi Motorway and was designed for speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour with a total investment of around $2.89 billion, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Some 29,000 local jobs were created during the peak of construction and the management of the motorway will be done by the Pakistani side.

Traveling through main agricultural product regions, the road directly drove up local economic and social development.

The Chinese contracting company also improved social welfare in villages along the routes by constructing school buildings, roads and bridges, digging wells and irrigation works, Wang said.

Global Times