BEIJING, May 6 (INP): The COVID-19 spreads will affect the construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to a certain extent, but the effect is likely to be within a controllable range, said a report published by China Economic Net (CEN) on Wednesday.

The report says, it is a matter of concern these days, COVID-19 spreads rapidly in Pakistan, as confirmed cases have crossed 22,000 with 476 deaths.

The CPEC is a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which runs through the northern and southern parts of Pakistan, where the pandemic is getting worse. Now everyone is very much concerned about the COVID-19 impact on the construction of CPEC projects. Some people say that it has an impact, some say there is no impact, and others say the impact is very large. The impact on CPEC will depend on the spread of the epidemic in days to come and the effectiveness of Pakistan’s epidemic prevention and control measures.We should seek truth from facts. At the same time, we should be alert to the fact that there is a force in the world that does not wish to see the success of CPEC, so they arbitrarily exaggerate the impact of the pandemic on CPEC development. The Chinese and Pakistani governments and peoples have firm determination to overcome difficulties caused by COVID-19 and promote CPEC construction.

Therefore, while fighting COVID-19 together, the two governments attach great importance to the continuous construction of CPEC projects. Both governments have maintained close communication and coordination on specific issues of CPEC projects now. Normal flights between the two countries were temporarily interrupted due to the epidemic, but Chinese technicians had returned to the site by chartered airplanes. The Chinese enterprises have implemented closed-off management and all CPEC projects have formulated prevention and control plans and implemented them very strictly, therefore effectively preventing the invasion of the novel coronavirus. 

So far there is no COVID-19 spread at the project sites. The Chinese government and headquarters of the Chinese enterprises have provided sufficient prevention and medical materials to workers onsite, and sent medical teams to the construction sites. In addition, the Chinese enterprises participating in the construction of CPEC projects are also actively making contributions to the prevention and control of the pandemic in various locations in Pakistan, donating materials to the local governments, schools and hospitals. At present, Pakistan's economy and its people are struggling, especially when facing the strike of COVID-19. Therefore, in this special period, the continuous construction of CPEC is of great significance, because these infrastructure projects as well as special economic zones and industrial parks are closely related to future development of Pakistan. All walks of life in Pakistan have reached a consensus that CPEC is the lifeline of Pakistan. Recently, I have read an article written by a Pakistani friend on social media, saying that Pakistan's future development can be maintained only if CPEC’s development is further promoted, the report added.

INP/JAVED