Introduction
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) turns one year this month. Since its signing in April 2015, different politicians, policy analysts, and businessmen have termed it as a “game changer” for Pakistan. This is not hard to realize since CPEC is not only expected to revamp the ailing infrastructure of Pakistan, but will also help in reducing the energy crisis through its energy projects. These energy projects constitute 76 percent of the total CPEC investment.
In terms of development, CPEC will bring about significant improvement in some of the most underdeveloped districts in Pakistan, mainly in Balochistan, KPK, southern Punjab, and northern Sindh. This will be achieved by connecting such districts through networks of roads to the main cities, which are the hubs of development. CPEC projects will also increase employment opportunities for unskilled workers of these areas in particular.
Despite the project’s mushroom state, the “development narrative” of CPEC is well established and documented. The key to this fast progress is the incessant political debate on CPEC routes, which is also sometimes referred to as the route controversy. The “geo-strategic narrative” of CPEC is also well covered in Pakistan.
On the business side, however, there exists a gap in information on how and for which businesses CPEC can be a boon. Most of the coverage on CPEC only includes the assertion that CPEC will provide a lot of business opportunities in Pakistan with no specific information or details as to how these opportunities may be realized which can help the relevant businesses to take informed decisions.
This report intends to cater to this gap by analyzing business opportunities that are expected to arise from CPEC.
