The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is moving into a new phase focused on industry, skills and jobs. The shift in direction was discussed at the 93rd CPEC progress review meeting held on 7 October. Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal chaired the review and looked at the priority areas for the months ahead.
The meeting covered education, agricultural modernisation, research and innovation, and youth development. Officials also discussed better cooperation between federal and provincial governments so that projects move faster on the ground. The focus, they said, is now on results that improve people’s lives.
What the Review Found
The CPEC Secretariat reported progress on STEM education, which has expanded from 42 to 58 districts across the country. Joint research laboratories in applied sciences, disaster management and artificial intelligence are also under discussion with Chinese partners. These labs would help Pakistani scientists work on local problems with modern tools.
In an article published in China Daily, the minister said CPEC 2.0 would complement Pakistan’s national development framework, URAAN Pakistan. The new phase would promote industrial growth, green development and regional connectivity, he wrote. The goal is to move from building roads and power plants to building factories and skills.
Phase One Legacy
The first phase of CPEC delivered 43 completed projects worth about $25 billion. Seventeen energy projects added around 8,900 megawatts to the country’s power generation capacity, alongside two coal mines and a major transmission line. These projects helped end the worst of the power cuts that crippled industry a decade ago.
Around 200,000 direct jobs were created in the first phase, officials said. The minister said the new phase would move from government-led projects to business-to-business cooperation. Chinese firms are being invited to invest in manufacturing, technology and agriculture in Pakistan.
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