STORY: Pakistan-China cooperation provides stable, safe operation of CPEC project
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 2, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 16, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:14
LOCATION: Islamabad
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of OLMT
2. STANDUP (English): ALI JASWAL, Xinhua reporter
3. various of OLMT
4. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): OKASHA, Electrical engineer at OLMT
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): HASEEB AHMED JANJUA, Operations planning manager at OLMT
6. various of OLMT

STORYLINE:

STANDUP (English): ALI JASWAL, Xinhua reporter
"The Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) in Pakistan's eastern Lahore city was built under the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) framework, and is now being jointly operated by the Pakistani and Chinese companies. This project, which is benefiting the general masses a lot, is following all the internationally recognized safety protocols and procedures. Moreover, the Pakistani staff has now been very trained by the Chinese company to operate, maintain, and manage the project independently."

Okasha, a 24-year-old electrical engineer, has been working on the project for the last three years.

He started driving the train following a six-month-long training course designed and taught by Chinese instructors.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): OKASHA, Electrical engineer at OLMT
"I have learned a lot of things from my Chinese colleagues. They have taught me very well. They have taught me all the necessities regarding my train operation. The teaching from the Chinese was very helpful for me to drive the train."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): HASEEB AHMED JANJUA, Operations planning manager at OLMT
"We were really not familiar with this project or projects of this kind, because like I have already said, this is the first-ever modern rail transit system of the country. So the Chinese trainers, I cannot even forget how much dedication, effort, and time they have consumed with us, they have spent on us to train us. We would like to thank the Chinese government for giving us this amazing project, which is benefiting the poor people of Pakistan especially, because if a person buys a ticket for around 40 rupees, he can travel from one end of the city to another end."

As an early-harvest project of CPEC, the Orange Line project was jointly constructed by China Railway Group Corporation and China North Industries Corporation.

According to the management department of the OLMT, the project has operated safely and stably for about 1,120 days since its opening up till the end of last year.

About 130 million passengers have been served through the train network, with 323,000 train journeys covering a total distance of 40.89 million kilometers.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Islamabad.
(XHTV)