NOW that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah is returning from China with a bouquet of projects for his province, one of the most persistent arguments relating to CPEC should begin to subside. The provinces are finally being given a place at the CPEC table, and with more projects dedicated to serving provincial government priorities, the debate needs to swivel to where it should always have been: on the need for more transparency. The Sindh government has identified the Karachi Circular Railway, Keti Bandar power park and an industrial zone as its choice for CPEC-related projects. The question now needs to be raised how these projects were selected, and what terms they will entail. The federal government has had to be pushed towards greater transparency, and even though it has responded to a point by creating a dedicated website, much room for improvement still exists. As provincial governments, that apparently also include KP, step up to the CPEC table, the need for transparency and disclosure grows.

The need for transparency was brought to the fore recently when the Lahore High Court was told by a department of the Punjab government that the terms of financing for the Orange Line train could not be revealed due to a ‘secrecy clause’ in the agreement. Now we have news of three more large projects taken up by Sindh, and it must be asked whether or not similar secrecy clauses are present in the agreements. The Sindh government should also explain why the KCR project languished when the Japanese showed an interest in building it, but suddenly came to life when the Chinese agreed to become involved.

More specifically, questions need to be asked about the Keti Bandar proposal. Has the Sindh government done a proper study on the viability of Thar coal for exports? The B-grade lignite contained in the desert usually does not have much demand in export markets. And the viability of this particular quality of lignite for long journeys is limited due to its tendency to spontaneously combust within a couple of hours of being mined. So before the government takes on large loan liabilities to build infrastructure for Thar coal in Keti Bandar, it should explain how the coal’s viability has been assessed for the power park. The provincial assembly needs to do its job and ensure that the government has discharged its obligations properly before taking on the liabilities of the project on public expense. Reflexive critiques of CPEC projects need to be jettisoned. But on the flip side, gratuitous applause of all things Chinese also needs to be replaced with judicious studies of the viability of each of the projects coming under discussion. The growing relationship between Pakistan and China holds much promise for both countries, but only if it is focused on areas that are genuinely of public interest.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2016