The Economic Times (July 7) reported that Chinese firms in Pakistan had raised concerns over the CPEC projects for the first time, and have also threatened to shift their headquarters in Pakistan to a safer place. China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company, which is involved in Gwadar Port, has listed the security environment, bureaucratic delays and anti-China sentiments among other challenges associated with projects in Pakistan and labelled the country a “high-risk” proposition. The China Shipbuilding Offshore Corporation has also underscored the grim security situation in Pakistan. It has categorised risks under eight sections including political instability under the Imran Khan government, social instability due to terrorist attacks and Pakistan’s depleting forex reserves among others. It should be noted that the cost of CPEC project, originally valued at $47 billion, has now risen to $62 billion. The CPEC was intended to rapidly upgrade infrastructure in Pakistan. Critics of the CPEC in Pakistan maintain that the project is pushing Pakistan into a debt trap.
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