QUETTA: The multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project has taken on greater significance with the threat of inflation and unemployment like never before due to its ability to attract investment and generate more jobs.
When this massive project was inked, it signaled the start of a new phase of Pakistani growth and was yet another tangible example of the goodwill between China and Pakistan.
Future business activity will center on the port city of Gwadar, where 70–80% of the population works in the fishing industry and the remaining 20–30% is involved in border trade.
Under the ten-year leadership of the Pak-China joint venture, Gwadar has miraculously grown from a little town to a bustling contemporary metropolis, according to YO BO, Chairman of China Overseas Port Holding Company.
“With the majority of Gwadar’s fishermen lacking technological know-how, the CPEC will equip them with technology and other resources to improve breeding and expand the seafood industry through creative approaches,” he stated.
Mr. YO BO emphasized China’s significant contributions to the development of Gwadar, including the building of the airport, medical facilities, and other infrastructure.
The Gwadar Free Zone, which came under the jurisdiction of the Free Zone Company in 2018, has already established a thriving phase one, spanning over 25 hectares next to the port, drawing six companies to establish their businesses. The Gwadar port is fully functional and equipped to handle both imports and exports; official data indicates that approximately 637,124 metric tons of cargo have landed in Gwadar between 2022 and June 14, 2023. A resident of Gwadar city, Sharif Ibrahim, stated that in addition to demolishing needless checkposts in the area, the government has opened the Mand-Pishin border marketplace at the Paki-Iran border to promote business activities.
He continued, “The federal government has also awarded 2000 boat engines to local fishermen and distributed 3,000 solar panels among 89,000 registered fishermen in the port city. The border market has created a great number of employment opportunities for the locals.”
Fida Dashti, a former president of the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industries, highlighted Gwadar’s strategic benefits over Port Qasim by emphasizing the port’s role in promoting barter trade with Iran, Afghanistan, and Russia.
“While the opening of the Gwadar border market is an impressive development, the rapid expansion of trade between Iran and Pakistan cannot be expected unless the government actively engages the local business community in all aspects of border business operations.
He underlined, “A committee would be established right away to decide on border market shop allocation and other related SOPs.
The Gwadar locals and the business community, according to the former president and executive member of the QCCI, might be involved in exploring further economic opportunities in the port city.
According to Sulaiman, a local fisherman, Gwadar Port desperately needs a processing and cold storage facility to shield fish from decay.
He said, “Gwadar has a thriving fishing industry that contributes to the local economy and creates employment opportunities. There is also a huge potential for fish export, which is largely dependent on the establishment of storage and transportation facilities.”
Mujeeb ur Rehman Qandrani, the director general of the Gwadar Devolvement Authority, reported that numerous projects pertaining to health, education, water, and power have been finished in Gwadar to better serve the city’s citizens.
He said that the Shadi Kor and Swad dams would supply the city’s residents with clean drinking water through 152 kilometers of pipelines that had been installed by the authorities.
Shadi Kor Dam has a storage capacity of 35,000 acre-feet, which could provide 2.5 million gallons of clean drinking water annually.
A source in Balochistan’s planning and development department claims that a desalination plant, built with funding and support from the Chinese government, can filter 1.2 million gallons of seawater daily, enough to supply the public with clean drinking water. Rs 2 billion was spent on the project.
According to him, Pak-China Friendship Hospital was also being built on 68 acres of land and will have state-of-the-art medical facilities.
All of the major CPEC projects in Gwadar, such as the Gwadar Power Plant, the distribution of 2000 boat engines to local fishermen, the Khuzdar-Panjgur Transmission line (via Nag-Basima) connecting Markran with the national grid, the New Gwadar International Airport Project, the Gwadar East-bay Expressway Project, the Gwadar Free Zone, and the Gwadar Port, would turn into regional gems.
He told them that, in an effort to draw in investment, the province administration had designated the Gwadar district as a tax-free zone. All provincial taxes, including excise, services, and property transfers, had been waived for the district.
With so many tourist sites spread out over the 750 kilometers of the coastal belt, the province’s government was working hard to develop a master plan for the area.
In order to meet the demands of both domestic and foreign visitors to these stunning coastal lines, construction was underway on eco-tourism complexes, beach parks, floating jetties, and rest places.
In addition, the government has stationed 215 lifeguards to assist and safeguard the tourists.
In order to preserve Gwadar’s historical civilization and heritage, restoration work on historic structures and archeological sites has begun, according to a GDA official.
He went on, “Under the plan, decaying structures will be restored so that visitors can remember the history, culture, and heritage of the port city.”
He claimed that Gwadar had a great deal of potential for tourism and that discovering the city’s hidden charms would require a proactive approach.
It is clear that Gwadar has a tremendous deal of potential to spur regional connectivity, which will help neighboring countries like Iran, Afghanistan, and the Central Asian states as well as China and Pakistan.
