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Southwestern Pakistan city of Gwadar is being developed as an industrial and tourism hub
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Gwadar International Airport will be completed and begin operations in 2023, enhancing the district’s development
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The master plan of Gwadar was inspired by the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, according to the Gwadar Development Authority
Inspired by the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, Pakistan authorities are turning the smart port city of Gwadar in Baluchistan province into an industrial and tourism hub that will create a lot of jobs and also promote tourism in the area, according to a Xinhua report.
Gwadar district in southwestern Pakistan will be a hub of trade and investment, thanks to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Mujeeb Ur Rehman Qambrani, director-general of Gwadar Development Authority (GDA), said on October 31.
Xinhua said Qambrani told a special session on “Gwadar and the Road to Sustainable Development” organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) that Gwadar smart port city will be developed into an industrial base as well as a tourism district.
The master plan is inspired by China’s city of Shenzhen and the GDA is vigorously executing the project for timely delivery, Qambrani said, adding that the master plan was finalized through the collaboration of Pakistani, Chinese and other stakeholders.
Gwadar International Airport is under construction with cooperation from China and will begin operating in 2023, enhancing the development process of the district, Qambrani said.
Hassan Daud Butt, a senior adviser at the China Study Center of the think-tank Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), said that Pakistan-China cooperation on the CPEC and in combating COVID-19 has transformed Pakistan’s technological pace.
“China is building an enabling environment for business and economic opportunities in our country. Therefore, we must prepare ourselves to capture the opportunity,” Xinhua quoted Butt as saying.
Sajid Amin, SPDI deputy executive director, said in his address to the meeting that the development sector and civil society organizations can play a pivotal role as knowledge partners and in the advocacy of the immense socio-economic potential of Gwadar, Xinhua reported.
The development of Gwadar as a key gateway on Pakistan’s southwestern coast is enhanced by the construction of the Gwadar International Airport as well as the China-aided Eastbay Expressway that was inaugurated in June.
As an important early-harvest CPEC project, the 19.49-km expressway was officially started in 2017 by the China Communications Construction Company to fill the urgent need of the locals in Gwadar and promote the sustainable development of the area.
