LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif says China has attached “no conditions” to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that reflects depth of relations between the two countries.

He was addressing the inauguration of an international conference on CPEC at the Government College University (GCU) here on Wednesday.

The chief minister said of the $46 billion investment by China, $36bn were in the energy sector and “if everything goes fine 5,000MW to 6,000MW will be added to the national grid by 2017-18”.

He also announced sending about 300 students to China on merit for studies and learning Chinese language.

He said the Punjab government would invest about Rs600 million on them (students) and hinted at separating the school and higher education ministries in Punjab.

“To give more focus on secondary and higher education, the government is considering having a separate ministry for each,” he said.

He said there was a huge potential for hydro power projects in Pakistan but unfortunately all the political governments and military regimes wasted the 68 years of Pakistan.

He said the government was focusing on building dams, adding the Neelam-Jhelum dam was near completion while the land had been purchased for Bhasha dam.

Shahbaz also shared his golden memories of a student life at the Government College saying “today I am standing in my alma mater, so I will talk other than politics”.

Dr Akram Sheikh, the co-chair of NUST Global Think-Tank Network, said the government needed to adopt holistic, integrated, consultative and coordinated approach to gain maximum benefits from CPEC.

He asked the government to add a railway network to CPEC for long-term benefits from the project, saying “the road network alone is not sustainable”.

He said since there would be many mega projects, airports and new cities that would come out of the CPEC, a special authority should be immediately established to look after them.

He also shared the complete history and objectives of CPEC and its strategic importance for both China and Pakistan.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Hasan Amir Shah said speakers had a vision to transform GCU CECS into a “real think-tank” for Sino-Pak relations and this conference was a first step towards this goal.

He called upon the chief minister, the Higher Education Commission and the Chinese consulate for their support for a permanent Chinese faculty at the university’s Center for Excellence, China Studies.

GCU’s CECS Director Dr Khalid Manzoor said CPEC was a ‘game-changer’ and would enhance Pakistan’s position in global politics.

“It will be more beneficial for Pakistan than Suez Canal for Egypt. Apart from political, economic and strategically advantages, it will also bring people of both the countries closer, which was a missing link in Sino-Pak relations,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2015