LAHORE - The China Pakistan Economic Corridor would guarantee socio-economic development of Pakistan and time would come when 1 dollar would be equivalent to 2 Pakistani rupees, Punjab Minister for Higher Education Syed Raza Ali Gilani said on Monday.

He was addressing an international conference on political, economic and social perspectives of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), organised by Punjab University Department of History & Pakistan Studies at Al Raazi Hall.

PU’s Acting Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Taqi Zahid Butt, on the occasion, announced the establishment of CPEC Integrated Centre at the varsity. He said that this centre would serve as a platform for gathering and dissemination of important evolving and latest information about the development relating to the mega projects.

Punjab Higher Education Commission Dr Shahid Soroya, Dean Faculty of Arts and Humanities Prof Dr Iqbal Chawla, Benazir Shaheed Bhutto University Peshawar VC Prof Dr Razia Sultana, Nanjing University China’s History Department Director Prof Dr Yu Wenjie, Nanjing University’s Xianlin Campus vice president Dr Zhu Qinbao, researchers from abroad and various parts of country, faculty members and a large number of students were present on the occasion.

Addressing the ceremony, Syed Raza Ali Gilani said that CPEC was multidimensional projects with its road links linking all the provinces and territories into a close-knit economic unit. In 2004, he added, the government had conducted a study which suggested that the money collected through toll from the route only would be equivalent to the total budget of Pakistan at that time.

Gilani said that another finding of the study was Pakistan would witness rapid economic growth and Pakistan’s 1.5 to two rupees would be equivalent to one dollar. He said that CPEC would really be a game changer for Pakistan.

PHEC Director General Shahid Soroya said that CPEC is an opportunity as well as a challenge. He added there were two important challenges in CPEC project i.e. provision of skilled force and development of human resource.