The Big Picture: How CPEC empowers Pakistan as flagship project

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"Like every developing country in the world, Pakistan faces an acute poverty crisis, a challenge that has been there since the country’s birth in 1947.

The growth rate over the years has been rather slow, and that remains a challenge for almost 40 percent of the country’s population that still lives in multi-dimensional poverty.

CGTN traveled to the port of Gwadar, once an impoverished fisherman’s land and now dubbed as a game changer for the country’s future.

The Gwadar port area in Gwadar, Pakistan /Xinhua Photo

We speak to the local communities to find out how they look at the opportunities that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project brings with it. Deprived of basic amenities, many are apprehensive that their condition will never change… concerned that once the project begins, they might be uprooted and relocated.

On the flip side, signs of prosperity have already started to show in the north of the country.

We go to Hunza valley which is the gateway of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Chinese trucks loaded with goods have already started to travel along the Karakoram highway, and some locals have sought opportunities in the early stages of the project by establishing roadside hotels, providing traditional local delicacies to attract visitors.

In this special report, we take a closer look at how the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has become a ray of hope for millions of Pakistanis, and how the government considers the CPEC project a cure for all ills, including the rampant poverty plaguing the country.

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