Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday gave his approval to dissolve the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority, a move that the government claims will hasten the implementation of the multibillion-dollar project.
The body that has been controversial since its founding was wound up, according to a summary that the planning and development ministry pushed to wind up two months prior.
According to Minister of Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, “This is in the interest of CPEC that the authority should be abolished to ensure speedy implementation of its projects.”
In order to avoid giving Pakistan’s key ally the impression that Pakistan was reversing CPEC, he continued, PM Shehbaz had directed that the action should first be taken in confidence with China. The minister added that after receiving approval from the Chinese government, the CPEC Authority Act would be repealed.
According to sources, China did not meddle with Pakistan’s internal deliberations about the CPEC implementation mechanism.
The choice to dissolve the CPEC Authority is consistent with the previous PML-N stance, which was never in favor of creating a parallel organization.
Even the PTI administration took longer than two years to establish the authority. However, it mostly remained dormant because the previous political administration did not support having the authority.
Iqbal claimed that the decision-making process had broken down, making the CPEC Authority a barrier to the projects’ quick execution.
He said that the Ministry of Planning and Development will now act as a facilitator. He also said that the line ministries would be in charge of carrying out the CPEC projects.
The minister said that between 2014 and 2018, the government quickly implemented CPEC projects thanks to the old institutional setup, which would be reinstated. Additionally, he declared that the planning and development ministry would resurrect the CPEC Secretariat.
The government resolved to strengthen the CPEC Support Project last month. The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics would once again receive the Centre of Excellence for CPEC (PIDE).
The CPEC Authority was unwillingly established by the previous PTI administration, but after Lt Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa’s retirement, the position of chairman remained vacant.
The Chinese government took exception to Pakistan’s choice to put CPEC on hold for the previous four years. They were especially displeased with Islamabad’s disregard for its contractual commitments under the CPEC framework.
