BEIJING: Pakistan’s Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Prof Ahsan Iqbal has said the high-quality development of Pakistan’s Gwadar port under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a testimony that the China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is helping Gwadar evolve into a world-class port city brimming with opportunities.
Located in the southwestern Balochistan province, the port presents opportunities for maritime trade in the region, including giving access to landlocked Central Asian country of Afghanistan, he told Chinese State-Run news agency Xinhua in a recent interview.
“The current development of Gwadar is just the first step and the port has a long way to go … In partnership with China, we express hope that Gwadar will become an internationally acclaimed world-class port city, which will have tremendous opportunities for Pakistanis,” he added.
Launched in 2013, China Pakistan Ecomonimc Corridor, a flagship project under the BRI, is a corridor linking Pakistan’s Gwadar port with Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, highlighting transport, energy, and industrial cooperation in the first phase, while the new phase expands to the areas of agriculture and improving livelihoods, among others.
Under CPEC project, both Pakistan and China are dedicated to developing Gwadar into a model smart city port, and in this connection a comprehensive master plan has been developed, with infrastructure is being developed.
Talking about the prospects for investment in the Gwadar free zone, the Minister said that several Chinese firms have showed interest in investing in industrial plants both for local production and export to other nations.
He said chances to invest in Gwadar are available for all nations around the world to collaborate with Pakistan and China and enjoy the fruits of CPEC.
“CPEC and the BRI seek a shared future based on common principles of prosperity shared across people. And we laud that China is sharing its success, not just with Pakistan, but with other nations also to help them improve their infrastructure and socio-economic development,” the Minister added.
In Gwadar, China has not only focused on developing the state-of-the-art port facility but also added to the local socio-economic development, with China-aided projects, including a modern and latest hospital for the people of Gwadar, a technical training institution, a water desalination plant, and a 4F-class global airport, he said.
Apart from the mega projects, China keeps on helping the underprivileged people by providing them with solar panels to generate power, and awarding scholarships for study in Chinese universities, he said.
He said that China’s contribution in Gwadar has been very valuable in uplifting the lives of people and the region
Following completing early harvest projects in the first phase of CPEC project, the minister added, the forthcoming phase will unlock significant opportunities for Pakistan, enhancing livelihoods and socio-economic progress.
Meanwhile, he expressed the confidence in an even faster development speed for the new phase of CPEC project.
