ISLAMABAD Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa (retd) on Friday said about 80 percent work on the Gwadar East Bay Expressway had been completed. Asim Bajwa who is also Chairman of the CPEC Authority, in a tweet, also shared some pictures of the expressway showing asphalt work underway on the road.

He said the expressway would help boost the port operations. It would prove to be the main artery of Gwadar Port through which the entire traffic of the port would flow. The East Bay Expressway would also provide connectivity of the Gwadar seaport and its Free Zone with the network of National Highways to ensure fast transportation of import, export and transit goods.

Gwadar port is being developed by China and is part of the mega project of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Currently, the Gwadar deep sea port is connected through a narrow 16 feet wide thoroughfare of Gwadar Town at the West-Bay. All the trawlers, trucks loaded with imported shipments pass through this strip causing disruption of normal traffic.

The port has not a dedicated wide highway to cater the transporting requirements of the post. The port operationalization, even with the available three multi-purpose berths, necessitates construction of the planned East-Bay Expressway. This 6-lane expressway along with a provision of 30 meters wide railway corridor will connect the port with the Mekran Coastal Highway (N-20) through the 2300 acres Free Trade Zone of Gwadar Port.