Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said that Gwadar will become a world-class port that offers huge opportunities to its people.
“We hope that Gwadar will become an internationally recognized port city with great potential for its people,” he told China Pakistan News Agency, celebrating the development of Gwadar port under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Describing Gwadar as a very important and strategic port in the region, Iqbal said that China has contributed immensely to the development of various areas of Pakistan including Gwadar under CPEC.
“In Gwadar, we see that China is not only developing port facilities, but also contributing to the socio-economic development of its people.”
The minister said that China has built a state-of-the-art hospital in Gwadar, providing facilities comparable to big cities like Karachi or Lahore.
“Also, China helped establish a technical training institute. He also helped provide electricity to the poor with solar panels and took other initiatives to improve the lives of local people,” he said.
“Therefore, we are very grateful that China has contributed immensely to the development of Gwadar, but this is the first step; other ports are still a long way off,” he said.
The minister said that China has also provided scholarships for the youth of Gwadar studying in Chinese universities. “Thus, I think China’s contribution to Gwadar is very important in improving the lives of the people and the region, and we appreciate it very much.”
The minister thanked China for sharing its success not only with Pakistan but also with other countries and helping them improve infrastructure for socio-economic development.
Launched in 2013, CPEC is the flagship project of China’s proposed Belt and Road Initiative. It serves as a corridor connecting the port of Gwadar in southwestern Pakistan’s Balochistan province to Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The first phase of the project represents energy, transport and industrial cooperation, while the new phase will include areas such as agriculture and tourism, among others.
