BEIJING: The renowned Belt and Road Initiative( BRI ) of China has thousands of infrastructure projects spread out across the globe, attracting controversy around the world while generating staggering US$ 2 trillion in contracts.
Here, AFP examines five important jobs:
HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY, LAOS
Laos borrowed heavily from China in order to partially finance a$ 6 billion high-speed railway that would connect it to the landlocked, poor country.
Tens of millions of people have traveled the almost 1050 km route between the Chinese city of Kunming and Vientiane, the capital of Laot, since it opened in 2021, according to Beijing.
It is planned to be the first link in a vast web of road projects connecting China to other Southeast Asian nations.
Beijing claims that the project” bears friendship, happiness, and opportunities ,” and both sides have hailed it as a public good.
Sonexay Siphandone, the prime minister of Laos, stated to the Chinese state-run Global Times on Sunday, October 15, that the railroad” benefits not only the country but also neighboring places.”
However, detractors have claimed that the debt-ridden Laos may struggle to pay back China, its main bank, and is unlikely to generate significant revenue from the task.
ECONOMIC CORRIDOR IN PAKISTAN
When they were incorporated into the BRI model a decade ago, plans to create an” economic corridor” connecting China and Pakistan gained fresh momentum.
For a number of transportation and strength projects connecting northern China with Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, the steadfast allies have set aside hundreds of billion dollars.