China–Pakistan economic corridor projects development in Pakistan: Local citizens benefits perspective

Abstract

China and Pakistan have initiated a mega project with the name of CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor). CPEC projects in Pakistan are an initial stage, and government officials and policymakers expected that CPEC projects are beneficial for local Pakistani community, as this project generates several business and employment opportunities for local citizens. This research study examines the benefit of the CPEC projects and its influence on local Pakistani citizen's living standards. Data were collected online using the Google platform from 310 citizens, residing in all provinces of Pakistan. In total, 310 samples were analyzed and reported, and for data analysis, SPSS version 21 and AMOS 8.0 tools were used; the findings of this study validate most of the hypothesis. Based on results, this study discussed the local Pakistani community benefits with numerous factors such as perceived education, income, and employment. Results of this study will guide the officials and policymakers of CPEC to gain local citizen's support for the CPEC development projects and designs policies accordingly for the future projects. This study also provides important guidelines for CPEC policymakers and officials.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Its Influence on Perceived Economic and Social Goals: Implications for Social Policy Makers

“…CPEC initiatives are expected to create positive perception and will encourage the local non-governmental organizations to work for social welfare and societies benefits to spur their living styles [17]. CPEC will benefit the quality of life of a common citizen living in the host community [6].…”

“…Educational improvement: It indicates perceived improvement in the educational system, new educational institutions and educational ratio etc. We used eight items that were adopted from Kanwal, Chong and Pitafi [6], where a sample item shows "CPEC will provide the opportunity to get a quality education. "…”

“…Similarly, China and Pakistan as a bilateral venture conceived a project consisting of a long route for the betterment of the economies and mutual benefits. "China Pakistan Economic Corridor" (CPEC) is the overarching project, which is initiated for the purpose of benefits local communities and economic growth of both the countries, thereby consisting of multiple projects [6]. Some of the sub-projects already started under the CPEC are listed in the Appendix A Tables A1-A4.…”

China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) development projects and entrepreneurial potential of locals

“…It also connects remote areas of Pakistan and provides several business opportunities for local and foreign investors (Wang, ). According to officials, the CPEC projects are a fate changer for Pakistan, which consists of multiple other projects including energy, economic projects, education, and infrastructure development (Kanwal, Chong, & Pitafi, ; Khwaja, Saeed, & Urooj, ; Maqsood, ). Energy projects will solve the power outages and blackout problems of the country, increase the economic activities, and attract foreign investment (Shaikh, Ji, & Fan, ).…”

“…Raza et al () highlighted the economic benefits of Pakistan with the development of the CPEC projects. Past theoretical work is related to CPEC based on employment opportunities, business, energy crises, and development of Gwadar port and security issues in Pakistan (Kanwal et al, ; Raza et al, ; Wang, ). Despite several research studies related to CPEC, local Pakistani entrepreneur's attitude and intention towards CPEC has not been examined.…”