5/5 Jamal S. 3 years ago on Google
Gwadar
is
a
port
city
on
the
southwestern
coast
of
Balochistan,
Pakistan.
The
city
is
located
on
the
shores
of
the
Arabian
Sea
opposite
Oman.
Gwadar
was
an
overseas
possession
of
Oman
from
1783
to
1958.
It
is
about
120
km
(75
mi)
southwest
of
Turbat,
while
the
sister
port
city
of
Chabahar
in
Iran's
Sistan
and
Baluchestan
Province
is
about
170
km
(110
mi)
to
the
west
of
Gwadar.
For
most
of
its
history,
Gwadar
was
a
small
to
medium-sized
settlement
with
an
economy
largely
based
on
artisanal
fishing.
The
strategic
value
of
its
location
was
first
recognized
in
1954
when
it
was
identified
as
a
suitable
site
for
a
deep
water
port
by
the
United
States
Geological
Survey
at
the
request
of
Pakistan
while
the
territory
was
still
under
Omani
rule.
The
area's
potential
to
be
a
major
deep
water
port
remained
untapped
under
successive
Pakistani
governments
until
2001,
when
construction
on
the
first
phase
of
Gwadar
Port
was
initiated.
The
first
phase
was
inaugurated
in
2007
at
a
total
cost
of
$248
million.
The
port
initially
remained
underutilized
after
construction
for
a
variety
of
reasons,
including
lack
of
investment,
security
concerns,
and
the
Government
of
Pakistan's
failure
to
transfer
land
as
promised
to
the
port
operator,
Port
of
Singapore
Authority.
In
April
2015,
Pakistan
and
China
announced
their
intention
to
develop
the
$46
billion
ChinaโPakistan
Economic
Corridor
(CPEC),
which
in
turn
forms
part
of
China's
ambitious
One
Belt,
One
Road.
Gwadar
features
heavily
in
CPEC,
and
is
also
envisaged
to
be
the
link
between
the
One
Belt,
One
Road
and
Maritime
Silk
Road
project.
$1.153
billion
worth
of
infrastructure
projects
will
be
invested
into
the
city
as
part
of
CPEC,
with
the
aim
of
linking
northern
Pakistan
and
western
China
to
the
deep
water
seaport.
The
city
will
also
be
the
site
of
a
floating
liquefied
natural
gas
facility
that
will
be
built
as
part
of
the
larger
$2.5
billion
Gwadar-Nawabshah
segment
of
the
IranโPakistan
gas
pipeline
project.
In
addition
to
investments
directly
under
the
aegis
of
CPEC
in
Gwadar
city,
the
China
Overseas
Port
Holding
Company
in
June
2016
began
construction
on
the
$2
billion
Gwadar
Special
Economic
Zone,
which
is
being
modelled
on
the
lines
of
the
Special
Economic
Zones
of
China.
In
September
2016
the
Gwadar
Development
Authority
published
a
request
for
tenders
for
the
preparation
of
expropriation
and
resettlement
of
Old
Town
Gwadar.
1 person found this review helpful ๐