Manzoor Ahmed

Dr. Manzoor Ahmed is Associate Professor of Economics, and Dean Faculty of Social Sciences and Management, Lasbela University, Balochistan, Pakistan

DOI: http://DOI Number

Keywords: Transit corridors, social indicators, CPEC, Balochistan, energy sector, transit, socioeconomic change, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), infrastructure

Abstract

Unlike transit corridors, economic corridors are explicitly designed to stimulate economic development and uplift social indicators. While the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been efficiently described as an economic corridor and game changer to the overall economic landscape of Pakistan, its implications for the economy of the Balochistan province of Pakistan are yet to be determined. The fact that 61 percent of the total $62 billion CPEC-related investments will be allocated to projects in the energy sector, which are situated out of Balochistan, a relevant point worth investigating is whether the CPEC will be just a transit route for Balochistan or it will be a harbinger of a greater socio-economic change to the province. This paper attempts to analyse how CPEC can be instrumental in changing the social and economic landscape of Balochistan. The study, while analyzing various aspects of Balochistan’s economy, argues that the CPEC enterprise has an enormous significance for the social and economic development of Balochistan. With numerous growth nodes and economic corridors, Balochistan needs Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and greater connectivity. The CPEC will likely provide the much-needed physical infrastructure and help to exploit the trade and other economic potentials of the province.

First Published

March 25, 2017

How to Cite

Manzoor Ahmed, “China Pakistan Economic Corridor: The Economic Implications For Balochistan,” Regional Studies 35, no.2 (Spring 2017): 90-122, https://regionalstudies.com.pk/wp/article/china-pakistan-economic-corridor-the-economic-implications-for-balochistan/

Issue

Volume 35, Issue 2