Gwadar port city development project | News and Updates

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Industrial potential: Deep sea port in Gwadar would turn things around

PHOTO: REUTERS

KARACHI: The Gwadar Port holds immense potential for industrial investment in view of the opportunities offered through the establishment of a deep sea port, which is capable of accommodating large vessels of up to 70,000 Deadweight Tonnage (DWT), said China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) Chairman Zhang Baozhong.

During his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), he informed the gathering that the Makran Coastal Highway (N-20) had been completed, which had substantially reduced distance between Karachi and Gawdar.

“Upon completion, the Gwadar Port would be a gateway for businesses as it would cater to all types of international commercial activities,” he added.

“The COPHC was granted 40 years concession in 2013 to manage and operate the Gwadar Port and Gwadar Free Zone and it had been the objective of the COPHC to develop the region’s most strategically well-located port with state-of-the-art facilities,” remarked Baozhong.

“It has been mostly the local workforce and contractors that have been engaged in carrying out the development work at the port and they are doing an excellent job.”

Baozhong added that the largest free zone, covering an area of 968,000 sq metre, for warehousing, manufacturing, international purchasing, transit and distribution trans-shipment, commodity display and supporting services had also been established. “The free zone is exempted from federal, provincial and local taxes and would make Gwadar an attractive port for marine trade.”

“COPHC also intends organising an international fair every year in Gwadar, in collaboration with the Governments of Pakistan and China to highlight the potential of this important port which would become the distribution centre for the Middle East market.“The Gwadar Port will prove to be a game-changer for Pakistan and would help alleviate poverty and generate employment for local inhabitants,” said the Businessmen Group Vice Chairman and KCCI former president Anjum Nisar.

“The COPHC also plans to establish the deepest berth of 20 metres; this means that some of the largest vessels would be berthed at the port, bringing in more prosperity not only for Pakistan, but for the entire region,” added Nisar.
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Gwadar free zone inaugurated.

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Pak army should provide full security so that this port can become a transshipment hub

 

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ARMY CHIEF VOWS TO ‘PAY ANY PRICE’ FOR CPEC SECURITY

Army chief General Raheel Sharif vowed on Friday that security forces are ready to pay any price to turn the long cherished dream of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into reality.

“We are totally aware of all campaigns against the corridor and I vow that the security forces are ready to pay any price to turn this long cherished dream into reality,” the army chief said, according to a statement released by the military’s media wing, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Pakistan Army to establish HQ in Diamer district to ensure CPEC security

The army chief was visiting the headquarters of the newly raised Special Security Division (SSD) for the security of CPEC.

General Raheel urged coordination of law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to ensure security for the project.

The army chief also reiterated the commitment of Pakistan Army to provide security for the project and the workforce involved, terming it a game changer having the potential to transform lives of people of the country. He also emphasised the need to ensure peaceful environment to be able to push all planned development projects.

Earlier, the army chief was given a detailed briefing on the progress of raising of the force and wide ranging security aspects of the project. On arrival, General Raheel was received by Lieutenant General Malik Zafar Iqbal and Major General Abid Rafique, Commander SSD.

Gilgit-Baltistan government announced on Wednesday to “allocate a substantial piece of land to Pakistan Army in Diamer district so it could set up headquarters and ensure security for CPEC.”

According to the officials, the site is situated in Thak Das, a barren piece of land near Chilas, where a brigade will be stationed.

On February 3, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, accompanied by General Raheel, inaugurated Rs13 billion Gwadar-Turbat-Hoshab Road (M-8), a part of the CPEC.

 

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First cargo from China to reach Gwadar this year: Gen Raheel

QUETTA: Army chief General Raheel Sharif said on Tuesday that the first cargo from China would reach Gwadar deep seaport this year.

“Insha Allah this year, we will move cargo from heartland China to Gwadar and beyond, fulfilling our dream,” he said while addressing a seminar on prospects of peace and development in Balochistan.

The seminar was organised by Turbat University, Devot Organisation and the commander Southern Command. Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, Commander Southern Command Lt Gen Aamir Riaz and a large number of people attended the seminar.

Gen Raheel said CPEC was a lifetime opportunity for Pakistan to improve the socio-economic equation of its underprivileged areas and populace. “I assure the people of Balochistan that it is they who will benefit the most from this project.”

Since the onset of CPEC, Balochistan has seen unprecedented development of communication infrastructure as army engineers were mobilised for construction while army and Frontier Corps units were used for security of the projects, he said.

“Over the past two years, 675kms of roads have already been constructed, while by the end of this year, a total of 870kms of road infrastructure will be completed by the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).”

He said it was his belief that CPEC was poised to bring a true economic transformation to the province, and Gwadar was central to the broader conception of CPEC. ‘[However,] the corridor itself ranges from western China to the plains and coasts of Pakistan and promises to bring prosperity to the remotest areas of Pakistan from Gilgit-Baltistan to Balochistan,” he added.

Gen Raheel said that while many world powers had appreciated the true potential of CPEC as a catalyst of economic transformation of the entire region, the project had also raised many eyebrows ‘by those competing for influence in the region’.

In an apparent reference to the arrest of Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadav from Balochistan last month, the army chief said India had openly challenged this initiative and its spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), was blatantly involved in destabilising Pakistan.

“We all know that hostile intelligence agencies are averse to this grand project. Let me make it clear that we will not allow anyone to create impediments and turbulence in any part of Pakistan. Therefore, it is important for all to leave behind confrontation and focus on cooperation,” he said.

The army chief vowed to ensure security of CPEC, adding that a 15,000-strong dedicated force was already in place under the ambit of a special security division.

 

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[Clutch]

Why doesn't the government invite some of the largest developers in the country like Bahria (Bahria town gwadar) email etc. To build some large scale modern communities. And give them tax breaks/incentiv to build today for near term growth.

This will spur the dream that gwadar wishes to achieve...

 

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Construction of industrial free zone in Gwadar begins

QUETTA: Work on construction of a 10-square kilometre industrial free zone in Gwadar is underway.

It is expected that the port city will be able to create about 40,000 jobs. Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), Chairman Dostain Khan Jamaldini said that the construction of Gwadar Free Zone is underway at a cost of US $2 billion.

He said that Chinese, Middle East, European and Pakistani investors have planned to establish 300 factories to manufacture different products in Gwadar.

Jamladini said, “Chinese firm is spending US $2 billion for construction of roads, provision of electricity, gas and water in Gwadar Free Zone, spread over 10 square kilometre of land and work will be completed within the stipulated time.”

Last week, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal, rebutting the notion that the government has neglected the western route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), has assured the upper houser of parliament that the government was committed to completing the western route by 2018.

Speaking in the Senate, he said the second interim report of the Senate Special Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was devoid of facts, so were the statements about the government failing to live up to its commitment with regard to the western route.

“While work on the eastern route and the Peshawar to Karachi Main Line 1 of the railways is progressing on a fast pace and construction of a six-lane motorway on the eastern route is expected to be completed [on time], work on the agreed route from D I Khan to Gwadar and construction of deep sea berths at the Gwadar Port remain mere eyewash,” the report said.

 

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Gwadar Port to create over 40,000 job opportunities


GWADAR: Work on construction of a 10-square kilometres industrial free zone in Gwadar is underway and the port city alone will be able to create over 40,000 jobs having more capacity of job opportunities in future.

Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) Chairman Dostain Khan Jamaldini said construction of Gwadar Free Zone is underway at cost of $2 billion, where Chinese, Middle East, European and Pakistani investors have planned to establish 300 factories to manufacture different products.

He said, “Chinese firm is spending $2 billion for construction of roads, provision of electricity, gas and water in Gwadar Free Zone, spread over 10 square kilometres of land and work will be completed within stipulated time.”

The GPA chairman said, “Work on implementation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had already been started in 2013 after an agreement inked between Pakistan and China.

He said, “The work to construct new road network, railway track and communication infrastructure from Chinese province Xinjiang to Gwadar is also underway. Similarly, the work on different portions of CPEC in shape of roads and railway tracks is in full swing in different parts of the country including Skardu-Hawalian, Multan-Sukkur, Gwadar-Hoshab, Gwadar-Rato Dero, Mughal Kot-Zhob and others.” China is investing $46 billion for construction of CPEC route infrastructure in shape of roads and railway tracks after the completion of infrastructure, he said.

Jamaldini said a power plant of 300 MW is being established under CPEC in Gwadar which would run simultaneously on coal, diesel and gas.

He said, “LNG plant is also being established in Gwadar to meet energy requirement of new industrial units to be set up in the port city.”

He said CPEC infrastructure of road network would be completed by 2018 adding that several other projects pertaining to CPEC would continue till 2030. He said, “It is flagship project of One Road, One Belt initiative of Chinese leadership which had several programmes and projects to be implemented till 2030.”

He said technical and vocational training institutes are being established in Gwadar, Quetta, Khuzdar and other cities of Balochistan to provide training to youth in industrial parks being established in Balochistan as part of the CPEC.

He further said that a 19-kilometres long East Bay Expressway would connect Gwadar International Airport to Gwadar Deep seaport adding that the project would be completed by 2018. Early Harvest Project is also being executed in Gwadar with the cost of Rs 14 billion, he added.

The GPA chairman said that a parallel two-way railway track is also being laid down alongside the East Bay Expressway.

 

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Gwadar airport to be constructed at cost of $260m

ISLAMABAD: The Parliamentary Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was informed on Thursday that Gwadar International Airport was being constructed at a cost of $260 million dollars. The committee met under the chairmanship of Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed. The amount for the airport is a full grant from the Chinese government and this would be an airport of international standards capable of handling the largest of passenger planes including the A380 Boeing Jet.

Additionally, the Chinese government has given a grant of $10 million dollars for building the Pakistan-China Vocational and Technical Training Institute which will be helping the local population of Gwadar in getting skills and employment. The meeting of the committee began with a briefing by the chairman on their recent visit to China. He also presented the report on the visit which took place during May 21-27, 2016. The members appreciated the invitation from the Chinese government to the Parliamentary Committee and also praised the positive work that the committee undertook during its visit to China.

The GPA chairman also informed that the water problem of Gwadar was being sorted out with the construction of Sawad dam through which water would be made available to Gwadar through an 83 km pipeline and the water shortage would be resolved. A briefing was also given on the various financial incentives being provided to potential investors in the Special Economic Zone of Gwadar, as a result of which, there was growing interest among investors both in Pakistan and abroad for investment in the Special Economic Zone. With these new incentives, the Gwadar port is also being activated and three new ships would arrive from China, bringing construction material in July 2016.

Regarding the provision of electricity for Gwadar, the committee was informed by the Ministry of Water and Power that as a result of an agreement with an Iranian company, an additional 100 MW of electricity would be available for Gwadar by the end of 2017.

Building of Western route on priority basis was agreed unanimously by all leaders and political parties, as well as the rapid development of Gwadar port while ensuring that the rights of the citizens of the region are fully protected. He also referred to his recent participation and speech on CPEC at the Silk Road Forum organized in Warsaw, Poland to promote connectivity between Europe and Asia. He said that there was a clear consensus that CPEC was the centerpiece, the flagship, pilot project of the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, hence failure was not an option and 'the people of Pakistan were unwavering in their determination to construct the CPEC as it is in the interest of Pakistan and its people'. He said that in line with the work plan of the committee, now the Parliamentary Committee would interact with the Government of Punjab during July 21-23, 2016, which would include a briefing by the Punjab Chief Minister as well as visits to the Sahiwal Power project and Bahawalpur solar project. The committee would also interact with all the provinces which had been done in the case of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Balochistan.

The NHA Chairman briefed the committee in detail regarding the progress being made on the Western route which he said would be completed by August 2018. Work on it was already underway at different segments and this would initially be a modern 4-lane highway which would eventually be upgraded into a 6-lane motorway, for which planning was underway. He said that the allocations have already been made and construction is underway on the fast track for the construction of the Western route which would be completed a year earlier than the Eastern route since priority was being accorded to the Western route in accordance with the decision of All Parties Conference of May 28, 2015 as well as the directive of the prime minister issued in January 2016 on constructing the Western route on priority.

The committee directed the Ministry of Planning and Development to prepare a projection of requirement for electricity for Gwadar and Balochistan as a whole. After hearing detailed arguments, the committee unanimously directed that given the track record of FWO in construction of roads in difficult terrain of Balochistan as well as in view of security situation in certain parts of the province where the FWO has already delivered, the 110 km of the Khuzdar-Bassima highway be completed also by the FWO so that the project gets underway.

 

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Pakistan working on Gwadar-China oil pipeline

Country will have oil in surplus after Khalifa refinery is set up. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is working on a plan to lay an oil pipeline from Gwadar to China for the export of crude and has given the task to state construction firm Frontier Works Organisation, say officials who are aware of the development.

The pipeline will run from Gwadar Port to western China and will allow Beijing to diversify and speed up import of crude oil. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had floated the idea of constructing the oil pipeline during a visit to China.

According to the officials, Pakistan would have surplus oil in the future as Pak-Arab Refinery Limited (Parco) has decided to revive the $6-billion Khalifa Refinery project that was shelved by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the previous government of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Parco will set up the refinery in Balochistan that will have the capacity to process 250,000 barrels of crude oil per day. In Parco, the UAE holds 40% shares whereas the government of Pakistan has a 60% stake. China Huanqiu Contracting and Engineering Corporation has also expressed interest in setting up an oil refinery in Pakistan, preferably at Gwadar.

The refining capacity of Byco, Pakistan’s largest refinery, has jumped to 155,000 barrels per day (bpd) after completion of work on its second unit of 120,000 bpd.

Previously, Parco was the biggest refinery with production capacity of 90,000 bpd, followed by National Refinery with 68,000 bpd, Pakistan Refinery with 48,000 bpd and Attock Refinery with 45,000 bpd.

The planned oil pipeline from Gwadar to China could be extended and connected with Iran that has already offered to build a pipeline for the supply of crude oil to Gwadar, the officials say.

Iran had also expressed the intention to set up an oil refinery of 400,000-barrel-per-day capacity at Gwadar Port during the previous PPP government. However, the project could not be pushed ahead because of international sanctions on Tehran and failure to reach an agreement on the proposed incentives.

The project can be implemented in future after the Chinese take operational control of Gwadar Port. Gwadar is quite close to the Persian Gulf from where nearly 40% of the world’s oil passes.

According to the officials, China meets 50% of its oil demand through imports from the Middle East. Oil supplies come via Dubai-Shanghai-Urumqi route covering over 10,000 kilometres.

The crude oil processed and refined in Pakistan can be exported through the shortest possible Dubai-Gwadar-Urumqi route – a distance of about 3,600 km. This can be achieved by laying an oil pipeline through the energy corridor up to western China via Karakoram Highway and Khunjerab Pass.

Hurdles in the way like the high altitude, freezing temperatures and a difficult terrain can be overcome with the help of advance technology.

Many countries have successfully completed similar pipeline projects under extreme conditions and at high altitudes such as the Atacama gas pipeline, Trans-Alaska pipeline and Trans-Asia gas pipeline.

 

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Entrance gate of gwadar port banner has english and chinese written on it and not urdu?

 

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On July 5, 2013, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was signed between the governments of China and Pakistan on the occasion of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s first foreign visit after assuming power. The Ministry of Planning, Development & Reform of Pakistan and the National Development and Reform Commission of China were entrusted the responsibility of translating the vision of their respective leaderships into reality. Within a year that MoU was turned into an understanding on a portfolio of Chinese investment of $46 billion in various projects. Besides this, a significant commitment was made by Pakistan from its resources for CPEC-related projects. Within a short span of three years, despite a loss of eight months due to domestic political crises, projects worth $18 billion have been actualised. Moreover, investment projects worth $17 billion are in the pipeline with completing formalities to be launched within a year or so. This is a remarkable story of devotion, commitment and hard work of Pakistani and Chinese colleagues who are involved in the CPEC.

When others were writing off Pakistan as an economic partner, China showed trust in us and Pakistan has always cherished its friendly ties with China. But the CPEC is going to turn this friendship into a strategic economic partnership. In 2014, there were 12 other countries that were investing more in Pakistan in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) than China. Today Chinese FDI in Pakistan has reached the number one spot.

The CPEC is going to serve as a gateway for trade not only for China and Pakistan, but for the whole region. Better connectivity in the region is going to improve trade among Pakistan, China, Iran, Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics. No country in the region should feel threatened by the CPEC as everyone in the region would benefit from it due to enhanced economic activity and trade. Pakistan envisages the CPEC as a peace-enabler because when connectivity and trade increases between countries, they tend to avoid conflicts. Thus it is not a hyperbole to regard the CPEC as a game changer for Pakistan and South Asia.

At the same time, we should not get complacent. Previously we have missed golden economic opportunities. In the 1960s, Pakistan was provided with a chance to revolutionise its agriculture via seeds of high-yield varieties. This was so promising that it was dubbed as the ‘green revolution’. Pakistan did in fact increase its agricultural output after the introduction of these high-yield varieties. But the gains were moderate at best. The key constraint was that advantages of new technologies were not widespread. Small landholders in particular and remote parts of Pakistan in general, could not benefit from green revolution technologies. On the other hand, countries of East Asia used the same technologies to transform their economic journey. The likes of South Korea and Taiwan produced massive surpluses in their agriculture sectors. They effectively channeled that surplus towards industrialisation.

Pakistan has been provided with a golden opportunity — the CPEC. It has all the right ingredients to transform the country’s socioeconomic landscape. Now it is time for every Pakistani to realise the importance of this project. Every one of us needs to chip in with our unique contribution to make it a success story and a case study for the rest of the world. Among other things the desideratum, of an advanced industrialised economy are infrastructure and energy. Pakistan is currently facing huge deficits in both areas. Thus it is in our immediate interest to build new infrastructure and reduce energy deficits. Moreover, inclusive growth, which is integral for sustainable peace and prosperity, cannot be realised without industrialisation. In order to industrialise, a developing country requires investment in infrastructure and energy to support and facilitate production, distribution and exchange of goods and services. Investments in infrastructure and energy require huge sums of capital. Furthermore, the dividends of these projects mature in the medium to long run. Less-developed countries like Pakistan have capital constraints so it puts them in a catch-22 situation. On the one hand, it is quintessential that a less-developed economy undertake large-scale investments but on the other hand due to scarcity of capital and low human development, these countries can’t afford to allocate all resources towards infrastructure and energy. An effective and pragmatic policy has to consider these trade-offs.

Another key aspect that less-developed countries needs to be wary of is the uneven development within a country. Capital (investment) goes to places where it can amass the highest rate of return. Remote and under-developed parts of a country do not have networks of forward and backward linkages. As a result, returns to capital would be low in those places. Thus capital would go to places which already have some level of infrastructure in place. This reinforces uneven development and it leads to social conflict in a society.

Being cognisant of these factors, our government has taken up a daunting task i.e., to spur economic growth in concurrence with lifting historically marginalised and disadvantaged areas. In Vision 2025 we stipulated ‘inclusive and sustainable economic growth’ as our way forward. The conceptualisation and actualisation of the CPEC’s western route is a testimonial to our commitment towards materialisation of inclusive and sustainable growth in Pakistan. By taking fruits of development to under-developed areas, the CPEC will not only fulfill the huge gaps in infrastructure and energy needs, it will also empower historically disadvantaged people and places of Pakistan including Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The transport route of CPEC is going to connect Kashgar (China) to Gwadar Port (Pakistan) via three alignments, western, central & eastern, which pass through all provinces. The rail network will be upgraded and modernised with Peshawar-Karachi ML1 in the first phase, on which speed of trains will increase from 80km/hr to 160km/hr. Besides the rail network will be expanded towards Gwadar and Quetta to be linked with Peshawar. All infrastructure projects are on concessional terms with the Chinese government proposing a panel of three reputed firms, with the lowest bidder getting the contract.

On the energy front, more than $35 billion are in IPP mode. These are private sector investments coming under our energy policy, which is open for all. These projects would not only reduce our energy deficit but is also going to bring down the cost of generation with cheaper power. After 70 years, the CPEC is harnessing the commercial potential of our indigenous coal in Thar to produce electricity.

Gwadar is a gateway for the CPEC. It is changing rapidly and it is going to be one of the most robust cities of Pakistan in the future. A new port, airport, expressway, technical college, hospital, university, city infrastructure, and water projects etc. are some of the concrete changes Gwadar is and will be experiencing. Economic activity has already accelerated multifold. By the end of this year, Gwadar will be connected with Quetta via Sorab and with Sukkur via Khuzdar bringing connectivity to the most underdeveloped areas of Balochistan with the rest of the country. DI Khan will be connected with KKH via a new route agreed in the All Parties Conference. On the other end of the CPEC, GB will be transformed into a model of new eco-economy bringing prosperity for people while safeguarding its rich environment.

These infrastructure and energy sector projects are government-led initiatives. But when it comes to industrial cooperation between the two countries, both recognise that private business initiatives are highly important. Therefore, business-to-business networks between Chinese and Pakistani counterparts are an integral aspect of the CPEC. Joint ventures between private enterprises of both countries would be key to expanding the frontiers of innovation, technology and trade. To synchronise the economic and business needs of both countries, industrial and special economic zones are going to be established in every province. The CPEC-Summit taking place today in Islamabad is a first major initiative in this regard. The key to the CPEC’s success is a broader consensus among all major stakeholders. Everyone was heard out and if anyone had any concerns, those were addressed immediately. Unlike previous mega-projects, the CPEC is inclusive, based on the welfare of historically disadvantaged areas. This makes its continuous and long-term success our nation’s first and foremost priority.