May 8, 2023
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will be extended to Afghanistan
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
The foreign ministers of Afghanistan, China and Pakistan have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen trilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and jointly extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan.
Following the trilateral dialogue, the three sides issued a joint statement, expressing their determination to leverage Afghanistan’s potential as a hub for regional connectivity.
Acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi of Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Qin Gang of China, and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari participated in the dialogue.
During the meeting, the three foreign ministers emphasized the significance of ongoing projects such as CASA-1000, TAPI, and Trans-Afghan Railways, highlighting their potential to boost regional connectivity and promote economic development and prosperity in the region.
CASA-1000: CASA-1000 is an ambitious renewable energy infrastructure construction project that will bring 1,300 megawatts of surplus electricity from Central Asia to high demand electricity markets in South Asia through new energy infrastructure.
The Central Asian countries of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have some of the world’s most abundant clean hydropower resources.
By connecting Afghanistan and Pakistan through a shared electricity transmission system, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan can sell clean hydropower-produced surplus electricity in summer months. The CASA-1000 system, when completed, will include 1,387 km of high voltage transmission lines.
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline Project
The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline will be a 1,814km trans-country natural gas pipeline running across four countries. Also known as the Peace Pipeline and Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, the TAPI pipeline will begin in Turkmenistan and traverse Afghanistan to enter Pakistan and India.
Construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan section of the TAPI gas pipeline began in December 2015 in Mary, Turkmenistan, near the Galkynysh gas field. The TAPI gas pipeline will transport gas produced from the Galkynysh gas field in Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The pipeline will start from Mary region of Turkmenistan and cover a total distance of 214km up to Afghanistan.
The pipeline will run through Kandhar and Herat highway in Afghanistan, for a length of 774km. It will cover 826km in Pakistan, across the cities of Quetta and Multan, finally terminating in Fazilka at the Indo-Pakistan border.
Trans-Afghanistan railway to further link Central Asia with South Asia
Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed the rail project in February 2021, prior to the Taliban takeover, to connect the former Soviet Central Asian republics with South Asia via Kabul.
According to the latest calculations, the new proposed railway would be 573 km long, cost $5.96 billion and boost Afghanistan’s transit to the extent that the railway has been branded “project of the century ” by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
The line will run from Termez in Uzbekistan to Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif and Kabul, then onto Peshawar in Pakistan. Uzbekistan had already built a 75-kilometer rail link connecting Hairatan on the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan border to the city of Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan back in 2011.
The three foreign ministers emphasized the need to advance “hard connectivity” in infrastructure and “soft connectivity” in norms and standards.
They agreed to explore measures to facilitate the movement of people and trade activities. They also decided to boost transit trade through the Gwadar Port.
With an estimated US$54 billion worth of infrastructure projects planned for this stretch, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the biggest project under the belt and road banner. It has taken decades of work to build the road from China’s Xinjiang to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port.
Chinese cargo is now being transported overland to Gwadar Port. Eventually, sea ports in Gwadar and Karachi will be linked with northern Pakistan, western China and Central Asia.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of America. Email: asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com
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The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
