The Pakistan-China Economic Corridor (PCEC) will also cater for needs of Europe as it will reduce the distance by 9,000 miles from the conventional shipping route of cargo and containers movement, said Chairman All Pakistan Shipping Association (APSA), Asim A Siddiqui.
Talking to the media in his office, the APSA chief said that currently conventional shipping route of cargo and containers reaching western China takes around 19,000 miles but could be reduced by up to 9,000 miles if China-Europe trade traffic moves through PCEC.
Kazakhstan has already started rail service to Europe and once the PCEC starts, it will help direct connectivity to European markets from where around 70 million containers annually reach China, he informed.
Centuries past, Europe was linked with the legandary Silk Route which starts right from Pakistan and goes to China, Central Asian States then to Europe, the chairman said.
However, this container traffic from Europe to China is not entirely meant for Western or Central China and for this it could be stated that around 10 per cent of this quantity or around 7m containers could be destined for Western China.
Even if Pakistan could initially get container movement of up to 20m TEUs (twenty feet equivalent unit), including of China for movement from Gwadar and other ports through the PCEC it will help the country get immense benefits and result in economic uplift, he remarked.
