China proposes whopping $58 billion railroad project to connect Pakistan with Western China
In a move that would reduce its dependence on Western trade, China has proposed its most expensive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), worth $58 billion that would connect its western part with Pakistan through a railway system.
State-owned China Railway First Survey and Design Institute Group Co Ltd. analysts examined the $57.7 billion proposal and found that, despite its heavy price tag, the investment is worthwhile, according to the South China Morning Post.
According to the proposal’s assessment board, the 1,860-mile rail line, which will link the Chinese city of Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to the Pakistani port of Gwadar, has the potential to alter both trade and geopolitics
Although railway connecting China to Pakistan would be China’s largest transportation project to date, the Institute has also contributed to the Indonesian Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail line, which will be Asia’s first high-speed rail system and open in June.
Latest rail system to get green light in China will connect world’s top manufacturer with Arabian Sea, opening it up to more direct trade routes.
According to report, it is also anticipated to spur development of new train networks that might link China with Turkey and Iran, greatly enhancing direct access to the two countries.