ISLAMABAD/BEIJING – During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the Chinese port operator at Pakistan's southwest Port of Gwadar focused its attention on forest-planting, and has now successfully completed a friendship forest in a city situated in a desert climate, gifting the city its first ever green park.
At the foot of the area's Koh-e-Batil Hill, the forest spreads across 60 mu (4 hectares) of land provided by the Pakistani government for free. The construction of the park was supported by the local community and the Pakistani Navy, which promptly relocated its camps and buildings in just two weeks to evacuate the land needed for forest planting, according to an article published by Global Times.
Located in Pakistan's southwest province of Balochistan, Gwadar Port is a key project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Since its operation, the port has begun to play a new role as an economical transit stop and time-saving trade port for land-locked Afghanistan when it ships fertilizer.
To build a forest in Gwadar's desert climate with almost no rain is no easy task, and the China Overseas Ports Holding Company - the port's operator - joined hands with the city government of Puyang, in Central China's Henan Province, to work toward the target of affording the local community a green park in as short a time as possible that would have low maintenance costs and be easily accessible.
The most advanced irrigation technology is applied here, a manager of the forest park's builder said, noting that the building of the forest received on-site guidance by a team of Chinese agriculture experts.
A total of 100,000 trees, shrubs and flowers that resist high-temperature, high saline-alkali soils were planted, with a 10,000-meter-long irrigation pipeline system, and a storage tanker holding up to 3,000 cubic meters of water, according to the company.
"It takes us about 10 months to complete the friendship forest, roughly coinciding with the time period of the pandemic, and we are continuing work to improve the park and the forest," Zhang Baozhong, chairman of China Overseas Ports Holding Company, told the Global Times.
The fact that a forest of this size can be added to the extremely hot and dry land of Gwadar in such a short time shows how much importance China's BRI builders attach to the concept of green development - a concept also specifically implemented in China to help work toward a sustainable ecological civilization, analysts pointed out.
Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday that while infrastructure-building lies at the core of the BRI development, the green aspects of BRI development also began to achieve tangible results in recent years. The new feature is an important accent of BRI's sustainable approach toward development.
"Such a development approach is in accordance with UN's development goals and that of the BRI's. It marks the fact that BRI development has entered a high-quality development phase," Xu added.
Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation (APPC) - Pakistan's Premier News Agency
KARACHI - Following are the foreign currency exchange rates for US Dollar, Saudi Riyal, UK Pound Sterling, U.A.E. Dirham, European Euro, and other foreign currencies in Pakistan open market on September 23, 2023 (Saturday).
Source: Forex Association of Pakistan. (last update 09:00 AM)
Currency | Symbol | Buying | Selling |
US Dollar | USD | 292 | 295.15 |
Euro | EUR | 317 | 320 |
UK Pound Sterling | GBP | 372.5 | 376 |
U.A.E Dirham | AED | 81.5 | 82.3 |
Saudi Riyal | SAR | 78.55 | 79.3 |
Australian Dollar | AUD | 198 | 200 |
Bahrain Dinar | BHD | 781.13 | 789.13 |
Canadian Dollar | CAD | 220 | 222.2 |
China Yuan | CNY | 40.22 | 40.62 |
Danish Krone | DKK | 42.35 | 42.75 |
Hong Kong Dollar | HKD | 37.93 | 38.28 |
Indian Rupee | INR | 3.57 | 3.68 |
Japanese Yen | JPY | 1.92 | 1.99 |
Kuwaiti Dinar | KWD | 951.03 | 960.03 |
Malaysian Ringgit | MYR | 62.62 | 63.22 |
New Zealand Dollar | NZD | 174.23 | 176.23 |
Norwegians Krone | NOK | 27.87 | 28.17 |
Omani Riyal | OMR | 762.72 | 770.72 |
Qatari Riyal | QAR | 80.69 | 81.39 |
Singapore Dollar | SGD | 217 | 219 |
Swedish Korona | SEK | 26.62 | 26.92 |
Swiss Franc | CHF | 325.12 | 327.62 |
Thai Bhat | THB | 8.31 | 8.46 |
KARACHI – The price of a single tola of 24-karat gold in Pakistan is Rs 215,800 on Saturday. The price of 10 grams of 24k gold was recorded at Rs185,020.
Likewise, 10 grams of 22k gold were being traded for Rs170,068 while a single tola of 22-karat gold was being sold at Rs198,365.
Note: The gold rate in Pakistan is fluctuating according to the international market so the price is never been fixed. The below rates are provided by local gold markets and Sarafa Markets of different cities.
City | Gold | Silver |
Lahore | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Karachi | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Islamabad | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Peshawar | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Quetta | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Sialkot | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Attock | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Gujranwala | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Jehlum | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Multan | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Bahawalpur | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Gujrat | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Nawabshah | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Chakwal | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Hyderabad | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Nowshehra | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Sargodha | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Faisalabad | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
Mirpur | PKR 215,800 | PKR 2,565 |
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