BEIJING: Chinese For­eign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian brushed away media reports that suggest the Chinese contractor has demobilised from the Dasu dam project site.

At his regular briefing at International Press Centre (IPC) on Thursday, Mr Zhao said he was unaware of any preconditions put forward by the contractor for resuming work on the dam site.

“I’m not aware of the situation you mentioned. As far as I know, the Dasu hydropower project has resumed,” he said.

A terrorist attack on the dam site last July took the lives of 10 Chinese and four Pakistani nationals while injuring 28 others.

He said the China-Pakis­tan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was moving forward against a headwind posed by the pandemic.

He rejected the reports that indicate the work on CPEC, a pilot project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), had slowed down over the past three and a half years.

Mr Zhao said CPEC followed the principles of joint consultation and contribution for shared benefits. “Rece­ntly, we have seen [the] president of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and some media’s positive comments on the progress made in the CPEC flagship project,” he said.

About the railway project, the spokesperson pointed out that it involved a huge investment and the authorities concerned were in consultation over it.

He said the claim that little has been achieved and no programme was approved over the past three and a half years under CPEC was “pure disinformation”.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2022