Now Pakistan and China Start Direct By Rail & Freight Services China, Pakistan launch direct rail & sea freight service between Kunming and Karachi, cutting transport cost by over 50 percent, Part of Maritime Silk Road The service is a part of China’s Maritime Silk Road initiative, of which $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project (CPEC) is a part. The CPEC was launched in 2015 to link up north-western China with the Gwadar deep seaport in southern Pakistan. The two countries already started the trade activities under CPEC in October as over a hundred Chinese containers were transported overland to Gwadar and shipped to Europe and Africa Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry has welcomed the opening of the new direct rail and sea freight service and said it will boost trade between the two countries. It has said that the route will enable Pakistani businessmen and traders to increase trade with China in a more convenient and faster way. “It will also help China connect with the world market,” the Chamber said. The service will cut logistics cost, including that of transport, by 50 per cent. Pakistan and China kicked off first trade activities under CPEC in October as over a hundred Chinese containers arrived at the Sust port in Hunza, following clearance from Pakistani customs. The containers were headed to Gwadar. About CPEC The CPEC is a 3,000-kilometer network of roads, railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas from Gwadar Port to Kashgar city, northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
Muhammad Zeeshan (logistics)