At the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia, Pakistan is embarking on its most ambitious maritime overhaul in decades — a push that can turn its ports into the region’s next big commercial gateway.
With new deep-sea ports on the horizon and trade corridors accelerating, the country is positioning itself to ride the surge in regional cargo flows.
Doubling port capability
This strategic move is a calculated response to evolving global and regional dynamics, including shifting trade patterns, increasing competition, rising cargo volumes, and expanding economic ties with Central Asia, Africa, and the Gulf.
The government aims to double the ports’ throughput from 100 million to over 200 million tonnes by 2030.
According to Martin Raiser, the World Bank’s Vice President for South Asia, Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to reach $1 trillion between 2030 and 2035, driven significantly by growth in maritime trade and related industries.
A senior official of the ministry has recently stated that projections indicate that Karachi and Gwadar ports could reach full operational capacity between 2035 and 2045, fuelled by expanding regional transit trade facilitated by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
New deep-sea ports
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Minister for Maritime Affairs, Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, announced plans in Karachi to develop three to four new deep-sea ports.
To implement his announcement, the minister formed a 12-member high-level, multi-agency committee tasked with identifying potential sites for establishing three new deep-sea ports along Pakistan’s extensive coastline.
These next-generation facilities will integrate modern cargo handling, green energy technologies, and digital port management systems.
These projects are part of Pakistan’s ambitious framework titled ‘Pakistan’s Maritime Century’, unveiled at the inauguration of the Pakistan Maritime Week 2025 in Karachi unveiled by Junaid Anwar Chaudhry.
The policy emphasises sustainable and long-term maritime development as the country seeks to reposition itself as a major regional maritime power.
Situated at the intersection of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia, Pakistan is upgrading Karachi, Port Qasim, and Gwadar ports to serve as gateways for regional trade and energy flows. Key to this modernisation is enhanced connectivity to hinterland markets.
Infrastructure developments include the Makran Coastal Highway and the approximately 900-kilometre (km) M-8 Motorway — Ratodero-Gwadar Motorway.
The M-8 project, valued at Rs32.24 billion under CPEC, is slated for completion in 2027. Expanded road links towards Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics (CARs) are further strengthening Pakistan’s access to regional transport networks.
Multimodal connectivity push
Under CPEC and the National Transport Policy, Pakistan is advancing multimodal integration, aiming for seamless sea-road-rail corridors to optimise cargo movement.
Agreements such as the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA) — which provides an alternative route connecting Central Asia to the Gwadar port in Pakistan via the Karakoram Highway through China’s Xinjiang — together with progress on the Trans-Afghan Railway infrastructure involving Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, are helping to shorten transit routes between Central Asia and Pakistan’s Arabian Sea ports.
Uzbekistan’s transport minister, Ilkhom Makhamov, has said that the Trans-Afghan railway could cut delivery times from about 35 days to 3–5 days and reduce costs significantly.
These infrastructure and corridor developments have coincided with a notable rise in Pakistan’s trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian partners.
Official reports show that Pakistan’s bilateral trade with Central Asia, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan rose to about $2.41 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2024-2025, up from $1.92 billion in FY2023-2024.
Bilateral engagement with Central Asian partners intensified recently. A high-level Kazakh delegation led by Transport Minister Nurlan Sauranbayev met with Pakistan’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs in Islamabad on 9 September 2025.
The meeting discussed a Maritime Cooperation Framework, sister-port arrangements (Gwadar-Aktau), development of a multipurpose terminal at Gwadar dedicated to Central Asian cargo, and plans of off-dock logistics facilities to enhance cargo handling.
Kazakhstan is also exploring a rail-based multimodal link from Aktau to Gwadar via Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), Herat (Afghanistan), Delaram (Afghanistan), and Nokundi (Pakistan). Currently under feasibility review, this route promises to significantly reduce transit times and costs.
As a short-term solution, Kazakhstan is planning to launch a dedicated cargo company for goods movement via Gwadar Port and aims to utilise Gwadar International Airport for airfreight services.
Savings for Central Asia
The geographic proximity between Pakistan and CARs offers a major advantage. Karachi lies approximately 2,000 km from Uzbekistan, 1,658 km from Turkmenistan, and Gwadar is about 1,200 km from Kushka (Turkmenistan’s border).
Analysts estimate Uzbekistan could save between $18 million and $730 million annually by rerouting trade through Pakistani ports, with an average saving around $220 million.
Turkmenistan’s potential savings range between $1 million and $37 million averaging $11 million, depending on trade volume, transport mode, and infrastructure efficiency.
Combined, these countries could save approximately $230–240 million annually, depending on freight volumes, logistics efficiency, and evolving trade policies.
Look Africa policy
Pakistan’s outreach extends beyond Central Asia under its “Look Africa” policy, designed to diversify and deepen maritime trade relations.
Discussions with diplomats from Rwanda, Sudan, and Egypt have explored new shipping corridors linking Pakistani ports to major African hubs such as Djibouti and Mombasa.
East African states stand to benefit, with Gwadar and Karachi positioned as secondary transit hubs that could facilitate smoother cargo flows.
Routing an estimated 50,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) — standard cargo unit in global shipping and logistics — annually through this corridor could save Rwanda approximately $640,000, Tanzania $430,000, and collectively other African nations about $11 million in transit costs.
Pakistan and Rwanda are considering a direct shipping line from Karachi to Djibouti, and possibly Mombasa, to boost East Africa trade. This was discussed on 14 October 2025, between the Maritime Affairs Minister and the Rwandan ambassador.
These estimates remain speculative and depend on shipping line adoption, political goodwill, port competitiveness, and infrastructure readiness.
Expanding Gulf links
Pakistan is also strengthening maritime ties with Gulf countries. For the first time, it has issued international ferry licences permitting passenger and cargo services to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Iraq, and Iran.
An upcoming Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Pakistan-Oman ferry route is expected to further deepen connectivity and trade.
These ferry services aim to boost bilateral trade, improve regional mobility, and support religious tourism, which annually attracts tens of thousands of Pakistani pilgrims, highlighting the socio-economic benefits of enhanced maritime connectivity.
Ensuing sustainable growth
This extensive transformation underscores the crucial importance of port modernisation, environmental sustainability, and robust regulatory frameworks.
Given the scale of coastal development, Pakistan needs to enforce strong environmental governance, disaster preparedness, and comprehensive climate adaptation strategies to ensure these advancements remain resilient and sustainable amid climate risks and natural disasters.
