Minister for Planning, Development & Reform (PD&R) Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar has said that development of Gwadar port city under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a top priority to explore opportunities of blue economy with a special focus on rapid industrialization.
The minister expressed these views while presiding over a steering committee meeting on Gwadar Smart Port City Master Plan here at the Ministry of Planning, Development & Reform on Friday. Secretary Planning, Development & Reform Zafar Hasan, Project Director CPEC Hassan Daud and officials from government of Balochistan and Chinese companies attended the meeting.
The minister was briefed on Gwadar Smart Port City Master Plan. He said that Gwadar can be transformed into a transshipment hub to explore opportunities of blue economy. "We need to have in place all prerequisites for that purpose which should include provision of water, energy, road and railway connectivity," he said.
He said that there is need for cutting edge planning to ensure overall urban and industrial development keeping in view the real potential of Gwadar which altogether is different from rest of Pakistan. He stressed on a good governance model with more autonomy to ensure speedy decision-making with respect to expediting the process of transformation and put Gwadar on the right track.
The minister said, "We cannot afford to wait any longer as our economy does not have the luxury of time." Industrialization in this port city is a low hanging fruit, considering its prospect of international connectivity and suitable cost of transportation, he added.
"We need to contrast the Gwadar Industrial Zone with a kind of incentives that yield high rate of return," he said while emphasizing on industrialization model that should have an inclusive nature vis-a-vis private sector.
The minister while setting development of Gwadar as a short-term target, said that the area has a big potential to become a unit for export and get best out of the blue economy. A total of $1.38 billion, interest free loan and grants, are being spent on ten projects of Gwadar Port City, it was informed.
According to documents available with Business Recorder, China gave $140 million interest free loan for Gwadar East Bay Expressway. Construction work on the project is underway and it would be completed in October 2020.
China is giving $230 million grant for New Gwadar International Airport. The implementation agreement was signed for this project on November 21, 2017. The phase-II soil investigation has been completed while final design will be submitted by China Airport Construction Group Corporation (CACC) in this year and work would be started in current year.
A project for provision of fresh water in Gwadar at the cost of $114 million has been started while phase-1, laying of pipeline from Swad Dam to Gwadar, is near completion. The tender for desalination plant establishment on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis has been floated. The project would provide 200,000 gallons to Gwadar city.
Similarly, China has given $10 million grant for a technical and vocational institute to be set up at Gwadar, $100 million for Pak-China Friendship Hospital, $32 million for development of Free Zone and $4 million for Gwadar Smart Port City Master Plan. Construction work on Gwadar Coal Based Power Project (300MW) of $600 million and Construction of Breakwater project of $123 million is underway.
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