On March 7, 2016, a meeting was held to brief on the alignment of the Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan part of the western route. The alignment of a 285-kilometre long portion of the western route of the China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) was proposed in the meeting. The route starts from Hakla near Tarnol on M-1 (Motorway) and culminates in Yarak, Dera Ismail Khan. This suggestion of the alignment of the western route has wiped out the controversial debate against the CPEC. [1]
The Pak-China Business Forum 2016 commenced on March 19, 2016 – held at the Lahore Expo Center – aims to increase bilateral trade between the two countries. The forum consists of stalls of several Chinese companies from different sectors. The Punjab Board of Investment & Trade (PBIT) also had a stall there which acted as the facilitator for the various Chinese companies. [2]
While visiting the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Head of the delegation, Communist Party Division Secretary General of Xijiang region, Huang Zhigang asserted that China is interested in the economic development of Pakistan by exploring the possibility of joint ventures and investments as Pakistan had a good potential to become a strong economy.[3]
In a meeting of Parliamentary Committee on the (CPEC) with Senator Mushahid Hussain in the chair at Parliament House, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K.P) proposed 29 hydel power projects (3,902 MW) at an estimated cost of $12 billion to be included in the (CPEC).[4]
The 3rd day of Pakistan-China Business Forum 2016 conducted around 5000 business to business meetings. This business forum aimed to discover mutually agreed approaches that could lead both the countries towards the increasing rate of export-import. [5]
[1]http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/106874-Alignment-of-285-km-portion-of-CPEC-proposed
[2]http://nation.com.pk/business/20-Mar-2016/newsbrief
[3]http://tribune.com.pk/story/1067791/collaboration-chinese-team-shows-interest-in-joint-ventures/
[4]http://www.brecorder.com/market-data/stocks-a-bonds/0/27993/
[5]http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/21-Mar-2016/mous-worth-50m-inked-during-pakistan-china-business-forum