CPEC western route to usher in new era of development in Pakistan: PM

Photo taken on Nov. 18, 2019 shows the expressway section from Havelian to Mansehra under the Karakoram Highway (KKH) Phase Two project in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. (Xinhua/Liu Tian)

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor western route will accelerate the socio-economic development in some of Pakistan's underdeveloped regions, including Balochistan province and tribal areas, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday that completion of the western route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will usher in a new era of development and prosperity in Pakistan.

The CPEC western route will accelerate the socio-economic development in some of the Asian country's underdeveloped regions, including Balochistan province and tribal areas, Khan said at a ground-breaking ceremony for several development projects in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.

He said Pakistan is lucky to be a part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) through CPEC, and the western route will turn the dream of prosperity into reality for the local people.

A train for the Orange Line arrives at a subway station in Lahore, Pakistan, Oct. 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Tian)

"The areas along the western route which had long been neglected in the past and lagging behind, will now be connected to one of the fastest growing economies in the world (China)," the prime minister said.

He said the main focus of his government is to eradicate extreme poverty, adding that China's development and its strategy to lift people out of poverty is exemplary and Pakistan can learn from the same model.

Expressing his government's resolve to ensure the development of militancy-hit areas that had long witnessed unrest and suffering, the prime minister said that the provincial government of Balochistan has been spending billions of rupees out of its own resources for local development.

Despite financial constraints, the incumbent government is committed to diverting funds toward development programs and bringing revolutionary prosperity to the province through projects of infrastructure and human development, he added.