Inaugurating the 200,000 gallons per day desalination plant at Gwadar on Monday, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had more than one reason to describe it as a historic occasion, more so as it synchronised with the arrival of the first cargo ship on the eve of the port's opening. The launching of the huge Rs 1.2 billion desalination plant was an epochal event.
For, as the Prime Minister, dwelling upon its other aspects, made a pointed reference to its serving as an excellent example of public-private partnership. Again, noting that the Gwadar desalination plant figured among the first few of its kind in the country, that it would also help change.
The Prime Minister said the developments in Gwadar, where the deep-sea port became operational from Tuesday and other projects were in line, would change the destiny not only of Balochistan province but of the entire country. This can hardly be viewed as exaggeration.
The same should hold good in a way with regard to his observation that provision of fresh drinking water happened to be a major priority of the government, for which it had been initiating massive programmes worth billions of rupees.
While dwelling upon the prospects of Gwadar's development the Prime Minister also touched upon the potential of the Coastal Highway for linking Pakistan to Iran, and beyond, thereby proving instrumental in altering the dimensions and economic growth of a whole wide area. Similarly, with the new airport project, the vision of Gwadar becoming a hub of intra-regional commercial activity should appear to be a realistic peep into the future.