Authorities in Pakistan are planning a number of roads under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)-  a China-funded multi-billion dollar infrastructure project in Pakistan- in the country's south-western Balochistan province to improve connectivity to neighboring Iran. 

Lt. Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa (Retd.), chairman of the CPEC authority, informed about the new roads to be constructed in the region. The work on the 103 km long Nokundi-Mashkhel road had started that would improve access to Iran on completion, reported The Express Tribune.

The detailed design of another 200 km long road, connecting Mashkhel to Panjgur, was also being planned, he added. The entire remote part of southern Balochistan, he claimed, would be connected to the new road networks. 

Under the CPEC, China has been funding a number of infrastructure projects, ranging from road and highways projects, industrial units, power projects, and railway projects. 

China’s planned investment in Pakistan under the CPEC has already crossed $70 billion, and many experts are also raising questions on Pakistan’s ability to repay these debts. Recently, China’s EXIM Bank has refused to fund Pakistan’s ambitious $6 billion Main Line-I railway project, citing the rising debt situation in the country. 

(SAM)