ISLAMABAD : Gwadar sea port will serve as shining example of Pak-Chinagrowing deep-rooted mutually cooperative partnership that leads to bring apositive change in the life the common man.
Chinese ambassador Yao Jing in his message on successful holding of GwadarExpo 2018 said that the development of Gwadar is in line with theprinciples of the Belt and Road Initiative, which stress wide consultation,joint contribution and shared benefits.
As Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi put in Davos, the Belt and RoadInitiative is about creating shared future for participating countries.
The message further says that with the commitment and hard work by the bothsides, the Gwadar will become a new hub of connectivity and commercialactivities, bringing tangible benefits to the people of Balochistan,Pakistan, and the region at large.
As the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, the China-PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC) has been making a lot of progress.
As a starting point and the gateway of the CPEC, Gwadar in indeed a pearlon this crown. By now, the port can handle containers and other goodsincluding bulk-cargo, general cargo and RORO with 3 multi-functional berths.
With the construction of the East Bay Expressway, the new airport, and moremotorways and national highways, Gwadar will be better connected with otherparts of Pakistan.
Gwadar has also become a new destination to investors. Around 5,000businessmen attended the Expo. With this new Free Zone inaugurated, morethan 30 enterprises ranging from banking, hotel, insurance, logistics,seafood processing and home appliance assembly have up their business atthe expo.
The development of the Free Zone could serve as a model for the muchexpected special economic zones (SEZs) under the CPEC framework. Thedevelopment of Gwadar is more than economic activities. The Chinesecompanies take themselves as members of the Gwadar community.
With the support of the Chinese Government, they are actively engaged ineducation, poverty alleviation, medical service and drinking water supply,the message added. It may be stated here that the Gwadar Port has 3multifunctional berths which can accommodate two 50000-ton vesselssimultaneously, including 5 STS cranes, 400 RF reefer containerallocations, and the stack yard of 500000 square meters.
The port can handle containers and other goods including bulk-cargo,general cargo and RORO. Currently, seafood containers from Pakistan westerncoast area can be exported through Gwadar Port to China, Middle East andother regions. Gwadar port is now connecting Karachi by marine high coastway, and connecting Punjab Province and Sindh Province with M8 highway.
Orignally published by INP