Water supply
Water supply is being improved, seven jetties are being constructed and local fishermen are being given motor engine run boats.

Electric Power Supply
A number of electric power generation projects are also being carried out in Gawadar and in its surroundings. The Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO), a subsidiary of the WAPDA, has geared up the work for building the power transmission line. It is expected to be completed. A power station of 132 KV is under construction.

Air Port
Gawadar has a small airport, which is basically meant for fokker aircraft. The need is growing for the expansion of this airport and enlargement of its runway to facilitate the landing of wide body aeroplanes. CAA has been directed to upgrade the Gawadar Airport for the landing of Airbuses by the end of 2004. Gawadar port will be open air and after its inauguration the jet planes shall be landing at the Gawadar airport. A sum of 2.3 million dollars is being utilized from Omani grant. The Pakistan government and the Civil Aviation Authority are also contributing additional Rs. 563.35 million for this purpose. The new international Air Port of Gawadar has been planned in the north east of the final master plan of Gawadar.


Dry Port
China wants to set up a dry port near the Pakistan-China border, so that western China could also benefit from the Gawadar seaport and it will create a ribbon of economic activity and hundreds of new jobs along the proposed highway linking Gawadar with the Karakoram highway in the north.


Rice Zone
Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP)-apex body of the rice exporters in the country- has decided to establish a rice zone in Gawadar to fetch the opportunities in the area after the construction of new port. The establishment of warehouses will provide extraordinary facilities to rice exporters especially for those who export rice to Iran as the Iranian border is only at a distance of three hours from Gawadar.


Saindak Copper Gold
The Saindak Copper Gold project is in progress by producing 12500 tons 'raw copper' daily. MRDL, a Chinese company, is doing the whole work. To ensure successful implementation of the mega project modern machinery, including crushers, smelters and other plants have been installed in addition to a 50 MW powerhouse. 33 km railway line from Taftan to Saindak has also been laid. The Chinese company MRDL has so far invested $25 million (Rs 1.5 billion) on the project.


Trans Afghan Gas Pipe Line
The 1400km-long Trans-Afghan Gas Pipeline (TAP) from Turkmenistan to Gawadar (Pakistan), the long dormant project that hopes to pump Turkmen natural gas to markets in South Asia, is finally poised to step off the drawing board costing $3 billion.


Makran Coastal Highway
The 715 km Makran Coastal Highway linking Gwadar with Karachi on a 675-mile stretch is going to be lifeline of the Gawadar project. It will be completed in four phases. President Musharraf has already performed the groundbreaking ceremony of second phase under which the Frontier Works Organization is constructing Gawadar Pasni patch. Completion of this highway will open up the area exposing all business opportunities in Gawadar and on Makran coast to the international investors. It is certainly going to attract new townships and settlements of international investors, tourists, and workforce coming from distant lands. The Makran coastal highway will also link Karachi with Iran and, thus, open a new and shorter trade route between the two countries. Gaining access to the more lucrative but landlocked central Asian markets via Iran and Afghanistan is also on the cards.


Linking Cars
The Asian Development Bank has also announced financing for road projects, linking Pakistan s Balochistan and Frontier provinces with Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics (CARs), having a total cost of $500 million
Mirani Dam And Canals

Mirani dam construction is another major endeavor being made to develop water resources in the province. The WAPDA is working on the Mirani Dam Project. Its estimated cost is Rs 7.5 billion. More than Rs15 billion would be spent on this project for which the federal government has provided Rs2 billion in the fiscal year 2002-03. It is expected to irrigate 32,000 acres highly fertile and of Dasht Plains in the downstream while more than 20,000 acres in the upstream through recharge of hundreds of dead and old Kans (deep wells linked up from the bottom ensuring a greater flow of water for domestic use and farming).

Other Projects :

Creek City
Golden Palms
Madina City
Globbiz Avenue
Platinum City
DHA PHASE 1 & 2
Sangar Housing Scheme

Plz pray
sardarzada

The "Makran Coastal Highway" Project
The Makran Coastal Highway project will help in establishing better commerce and trade relations with the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, particularly, the central Asian republics, besides, raising the living standard of the local people. Pakistan has a coastal belt of about 800-km from Karachi to the international border with Iran. The portion from Hub near Karachi up to Jiwani is called Makran Coast. There are small ports of Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar and Jiwani along the coast.

The coastline, west of Karachi, was devoid of appropriate infrastructure since long, thereby, depriving the region of socio-economic development. In the past no government had ever paid any attention to the downtrodden masses of this area, whose economic conditions, if lifted through a little attention and some constructive work, could contribute to the entire economy of Pakistan.
Before last year, only a dirt track existed along the coast, which was a nightmarish journey, also creating hurdles in shipment of seafood to Karachi from Balochistan's coastal areas. "The development of Gwadar Port and infrastructure along the Makran Coast is key to boost the national economy," said Brig Shabbir Ahmed, Commander, Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), which is constructing the two sections of the highway.

Last year on July 17, the construction on section-I of the coastal highway -- Liari-Ormara -- was started and till now 40 km has been completed. The FWO, hopes to complete another 65 km road by October next. The work of Section-I is scheduled to complete by July 2003. After inauguration by Gen Pervez Musharraf on August 17, construction work on section-III -- Pasni-Gwadar -- will be started.

By July 1 this year, the FWO has completed following works: embankment - 105 km, sub-base - 61 km, base - 50 km, black top - 40 km, bridges - 6, culverts - 112 and sinology - 15 km. The start point of this section is Sajjad Shaheed Chowk, named after an Army soldier who died during initial reconnaissance, and the end point is Ormara.

The regional economy of this area is largely based on fishing with prospects of a substantial growth, following of fish harbour at several locations ie, Pasni, Gwadar etc. Impetus to the region will also be provided by the construction of the naval harbour at Ormara and the third deep-sea port of Pakistan at Gwadar. The construction of water storage dam on the Hingol River would also result in an increase in agricultural output in the area.

In addition tourism will also flourish as Makran Coastal Road project would link Karachi -- the gateway to Pakistan -- with coastal areas of the country. The Makran Coastal Road would provide an access to the Naval harbour base at Ormara and would also provide an easy access to newly emerged central Asian republics

Plz pray,
Sardarzada

__________________
God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him! How shall we console ourselves, the most murderous of all murderers? The holiest and the mightiest that the world has hitherto possessed, has bled to death under our knife....

I heard Shaukat Aziz on TV saying that hotels and other lodges in Gawadar are full of investors flocking to the area. So it appears that Gawadar has become a big success even before its formal inaugration. I hope they plan this city well with wide roads and proper residential area, and enforce laws like CDA in Islamabad. In short, keep it nice and clean, unlike Karachi. Can't wait for the day they unveil this great city of the future!

Daily Dawn Reports: 12/04/2003

Gwadar housing plans dropped !!

KARACHI, Dec 3: In a surprise move, the Balochistan government has scrapped all its housing projects, including the prestigious Sangar Housing Project, in Gwadar district by cancelling the allotment of all the plots granted to general public, defence personnel and other federal agencies.

No reason was given in the official notification. The notification dated Nov 19 received here and issued by the provincial local government says: "The Government of Balochistan is pleased to cancel all the allotment of plots, including Defence and Federal agencies with immediate effect."

It further says that the district coordination officer, Gwadar, and project director, Sangar Housing Scheme, Gwadar, "shall resume possession of all such plots by vacating the same, in case physical possession thereof to the ex-allottees".

According to observers, the abrupt decision will beyond any doubt affect the investment climate in the Gwadar district where the federal government is seriously engaged in the construction of a deep-sea port and a coastal highway.

Most of the observers relate the decision to the unwise decision of the former Nawaz government when it seized foreign exchange accounts without considering the adverse economic implications of the decision.

They termed the decision a big blunder as it will restrict the plans for developing Gwadar into a modern port city and prove a stinging blow to the development activity in the province.

Many believe that anti-Gwadar forces have now finally succeeded to penetrate into major decision-making setup at the top level, to the detriment of Gwadar's future.

The decision has already created a great resentment among the locals who are the major stakeholders as majority of plots were allotted to them and those who have sold their plots to investors from other cities of Pakistan and now have nothing to return.

Some of the observers are of the view that the government will have to compensate the plot-holders at last market value which will run well beyond Rs20 billion.

The Sangar Housing Project was developed at Koh-i-Batil to provide an opportunity to the locals of Gwadar and other parts of Balochistan by providing them residential and commercial plots at reasonable prices for ultimately obtaining benefits from the anticipated economic growth of Gwadar city.

Initially, there were more than 3,500 individuals having stake in Sangar Housing Project but many of them have already sold their plots at various prices to the people from all over the country, thus, increasing manifold the strength of the stakeholders.

Most of the plots, after initial allotment, have been sold at a very high price, i.e., Rs3 million for a 1,000 sq yards residential plot and Rs5 million for a 1,000 sq yards commercial plots.

The plots after sale and resale are now owned not merely by the locals of the Gwadar and people of other parts of Balochistan, but also by those from all over Pakistan and abroad.

The stockholders include private individuals, businessmen, investors, government officials, armed forces personnel and politicians.


http://www.dawn.com/2003/text/top11.htm

Daily Jang Reports: 06/18/2004

Rs 7bn for Gwadar port development:

KARACHI: A record amount of Rs7.215 billion has been earmarked for the speedy development of the Gwadar port in the current financial year.

Sources at the Ministry of Communications said that the policy-makers of the country have agreed to install state-of-the-art Gantry Cranes (GC) at the Gwadar Port.

Shipping experts are of the view that without deepening the proposed channel and the installation of the Gantry Cranes, the Gwadar port would turn into a mere junkyard for the shipping industry.

Without installation of the Gantry Cranes, large ships would not prefer to call at the port.

Under the Pak-China agreement, the government’s share would be Rs5,215 million and this record amount has been well protected in the federal budget.

For the on-going project of Gwadar Fish Harbour, an amount of Rs12 million has been provided in the federal project.

So far, a record amount of Rs16.297 billion has been spent on this project but due to the non-promulgation of the requisite laws and regulations the harbour could not come up to the expectations of the policy-makers.

Shipping experts, particularly the Pakistani shipping community, are eagerly awaiting the issuance of rules and regulations for the commercial start of the Gwadar port.

Experts have suggested that the Customs authorities must come up with the earliest establishment of Gwadar Customs House and required notifications so that the shipping community could plan their investments in the area.

According to sources, a separate amount of Rs1 billion has been earmarked for the construction of the export zone and the industrial city.


http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jun20...usiness/b3.htm

Plz pray,
sardarzada

__________________
God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him! How shall we console ourselves, the most murderous of all murderers? The holiest and the mightiest that the world has hitherto possessed, has bled to death under our knife....

Authors: Ammad Hassan; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA
Abstract: Pakistan is building a port at the southwestern city of Gwadar on the mouth of the oil rich Persian Gulf. It provides an economical route for the flow of Central Asia's natural resources to the world along with easy access to the growing consumer markets of Asia. This thesis conceptualizes the Gwadar facility as a hub port that will contribute significantly to the revival of Pakistan's economy. China mainly funded and completed the first phase of the Gwadar port in 2005. Islamabad is presently negotiating with private investors for the construction of the second phase. This thesis demonstrates the necessity of a white paper promulgating policies to attract foreign investment. The United States and key regional players are likely to view Chinese involvement in the Gwadar port project with suspicion. Any potential Chinese long-term military presence in the region will pose complications for Pakistan. The United States may request military basing rights at the Gwadar port to handle some future turbulent situation in the region. Any such eventuality would require Pakistan to strike a difficult balance between a time-tested friend and an ally. Pakistan must enunciate a policy of non-military use of the Gwadar port for foreign powers to help stimulate Pakistan's economic revival.
Plz pray ,
sardarzada

__________________
God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him! How shall we console ourselves, the most murderous of all murderers? The holiest and the mightiest that the world has hitherto possessed, has bled to death under our knife....

Gwadar port emerges as a place of great strategic value, giving tremendous boost to Pakistan's importance in the whole region, extending from the Persian Gulf through the Indian Ocean to Southeast Asia and the Far East.

Now that is exciting. Only President Musharraf has been able to get this project and others off the ground, and only he can see to it that they are completed.


http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/today/business/bn2.htm

Gwadar project: economic and strategic dimensions

The Gwadar Project, recently inaugurated by President Musharraf, is the fourth mega project initiated by the present regime for the uplift of the people of Balochistan-Pakistan's strategically important, yet in socio-economic terms, most neglected province. The other three important projects are Mirani Dam, revival of Saindak Project and Coastal Highway.

Located at the Arabian Sea Coast with vast, arid and extremely backward Mekran Division of Balochistan as hinterland, Gwadar deep sea port, being built with Chinese co-operation, will not only enhance Pakistan's strategic importance in Southwest Asian region, it will usher in a new era of socio-economic development in Balochistan because, as President Pervez Musharraf has rightly pointed out, this area, after the construction of Gwadar Port, will become hub of economic and trade activities in the whole region. The people of Balochistan have for long been in need of such development projects, but unfortunately, almost every past regime had paid only lip service to their demands, doing nothing practically. The need for an alternate deep-sea port has since long been recognised, both from strategic view-point and economic perspectives. Gwadar was the best choice because it offered ideal conditions for building a deep-sea port and secondly, it is situated 470 km away from Karachi, making it less vulnerable to the Indian naval blockade, which Pakistan faced during the 1971 War. Despite the fact that Karachi was increasingly becoming clogged due to heavy cargo, the work on Gwadar suffered from foot-dragging and official apathy. When the military government assumed power, it gave the go ahead and initiated negotiations with China to speed up work on the Gwadar Project. For this purpose, Pakistan's Finance Minister, Mr. Shaukat Aziz visited Beijing in August last year where he signed an agreement with Chinese leaders on the construction of Gwadar deep-sea port and coastal highways. Under the agreement, the Chinese will provide $ 200 million to Pakistan for the construction of the first phase of the project. The total cost would be $ 250 million and the work is proposed to be completed in three years. President Musharraf performed the groundbreaking ceremony of Mekran Coastal Highway, Phase II, Turbat-Mand Road and Mirani Dam on August 17 last year in Gwadar. Pakistan's Minister for Communication, who declared that the area would be made a Free-Trade Zone for exports to the Gulf region, also accompanied the President

The construction of a deep-sea port at Gwadar is just one component of the Greater Gwadar Plan. Under this Plan, which will be carried out by Gwadar Development Authority, in addition to Gwadar port, a network of roads, connecting Gwadar with Karachi, Pasni , Ormara and Turbat will be constructed in four phases. The Coastal Highway linking Karachi with Gwadar (675 km) is being built simultaneously with the port. Other highways, from Pasni to Gwadar (135km), Ormara-Gwadar (275km) and Gwadar-Turbat (188 km) will be built in Phase II of the project. The first two phases of the project, costing about Rs. 3 billion, will be completed in two to three years. In phase III, Pasni will be connected with Ormara and in the fourth phase, Pasni will be connected to Gupt at the Iranian border. This network of roads will finally be connected with China through the Indus Highway. Under an agreement, Pakistan, China, Kazakhistan, Kyrgizstan and Uzbekistan are already committed to developing extensive railroad links from Central Asia and the Chinese province of Sinkiang to the Arabian Sea Coast. The completion of this communication network will not only facilitate the movement of goods from China and Central Asian Republics to the countries of the Persian Gulf, Middle East, East Africa, the Indian Ocean and beyond through Gwadar, the countries of these regions will also have an easy and short route for access to Central Asia for trade and economic co-operation purposes. In this scenario, Gwadar port emerges as a place of great strategic value, giving tremendous boost to Pakistan's importance in the whole region, extending from the Persian Gulf through the Indian Ocean to Southeast Asia and the Far East.


From Pakistan's perspective, the construction of the Gwadar port will strengthen its economy and defence. Gwadar is situated at a distance of 470 km westward from Karachi on the Arabian Sea coast, which makes it a bit difficult for the Indian Navy to achieve a naval blockade of Pakistan. The project is being built with Chinese help and co-operation, which will, as President Musharraf said, further strengthen Pak-China friendship. Although Pakistan, during the last about four decades, has provided an opening to China on the countries of the Persian Gulf, Middle East and East Africa, Gwadar will give the Chinese an opportunity to establish for the first time a naval presence in the Arabian Sea and Western part of the Indian Ocean. The Chinese are already comfortably placed in Myanmar in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean; their presence at Gwadar will further increase their naval presence in the Indian Ocean, which has gained strategic prominence in view of America's war on Afghanistan. The Indians as well as Americans seem to be considerably perturbed over the Chinese participation in the Gwadar Project, perceiving it as a bid by the Chinese to gain a strategic footing in the North western part of the Indian Ocean, where the Americans maintain a formidable naval presence through a chain of military bases and concentration of warships and submarines. The Indians have become so alarmed over the Chinese participation in the construction of Gwadar port that their policy makers and strategic planners have strongly urged their government to immediately take measures for the modernisation and up-gradation of the Indian navy, which with two fleets is already the largest naval force in Southeast Asia.

The Gwadar Project, when completed, will bring urgently needed socio-economic development to the Mekran Division of Balochistan, which is the most backward area of the province. Despite the fact that the region is of great historical and strategic value, it lags far behind the other parts of Balochistan in terms of literacy attainment, health facilities and employment opportunities. There is no industry and because of the lack of water, only a small portion of land is brought under cultivation. Most of the people live in rural areas without essential civic amenities like electricity, safe drinking water and health facilities. The dominant profession is cattle breeding, which has also badly suffered over the last few years due to persistent drought and consecutive failure of rains. The Gulf had been a major source of income for the local people, but due to 1991 War and deteriorating economic conditions in the Arab Sheikhdoms, a large majority of the people from Mekran working in the Gulf countries as skilled and unskilled workers have recently returned.

The return of expatriates has not only caused a set back to an already fragile economy of the region, it has led to the rise of serious social problems like narcotics use, smuggling, unemployment, crime and alienation among the youth. The implementation of mega projects like Gwadar is, therefore, extremely important in Balochistan and particularly in Mekran, which politically is one of the most sensitive areas of Pakistan. Apart from such benefits like enhancement of strategic value of the country and tangible socio-economic benefits for the people of the region, the implementation of Gwadar Project would restore the credibility of the federal government of Pakistan among the people of Balochistan who, for the last five decades, have been fed on false promises of development. Take for example, Mirani Dam and Saindak Project. The people of Dasht valley have been hearing about the building of a dam on the Dasht River since fifties. Many a time the plans for its construction were announced. But, then, nothing was heard about them. It is only the present government that has taken concrete steps to implement the Mirani Dam Project. Similarly, the Saindak Project has been revived after a delay of two decades. There is a widespread perception among the people of Balochistan, particularly in Mekran division and coastal areas of the province that their areas are deliberately kept underdeveloped by the federal bureaucracy for political reasons. Through implementation of mega projects like Gwadar, the present government will not only cause socio-economic development in the region, it will make an important contribution to the process of national integration.

Plz pray,
Sardarzada

__________________
God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him! How shall we console ourselves, the most murderous of all murderers? The holiest and the mightiest that the world has hitherto possessed, has bled to death under our knife....

(http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...6-4-2003_pg3_7)

Recent days have seen a series of conferences aimed at promoting foreign investment in Pakistan, with several more such moots due to take place in the days ahead, including a meeting of government officials, bankers and adventurous entrepreneurs to be held in Gwadar on April 28 under the auspices of the Board of Investment, headed by Wasim Haqqie. The keynote speaker at the Gwadar conference will be Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Earlier this month, Aziz told a team of visiting Chinese experts in Islamabad that the Asian Development Bank was coordinating the convening of a conference of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan for the construction of linkage facilities with Gwadar port, which is currently under construction by the Chinese. It is expected to become a gateway port for Central Asia and the western Chinese province of Xingjiang.

Development plans for Gwadar include an export processing zone, an industrial zone, a hotel zone, a pollution-free residential zone, and a new Rs 450 million airport with a 9,000-foot jet runway capable of handling Airbus and Boeing aircrafts.

A Chinese company is working at top speed on the new port’s first phase, with the construction of two breakwaters, three ship’s berths, a container terminal and related shore facilities due to be completed six months ahead of schedule by the end of next year at a cost of $ 250 million. China has given $ 198 in aid for the project, while the rest of the money has been contributed by the Pakistan government.

In the project’s second phase, which is expected to be launched in early 2005, 23 more berths and related facilities will be built at an estimated cost of $ 500 million. During Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s visit to Beijing last month, the Chinese government is said to have agreed in principle to also consider funding construction of the second phase.

Work has also begun on the construction of Mirani Dam, north of Gwadar. The project is part of the Water and Power Development Authority’s ambitious “Vision 2025” programme and will supply water for irrigating 30,000 acres of land for agriculture as well as supplying water for domestic, commercial and industrial needs to Gwadar and other communities in the Mekran coastal region.

Meanwhile, work on the Coastal Highway linking Karachi to Gwadar is also proceeding at top speed. It is being built by the Pakistan Army’s Frontier Works Organisation at a cost of $ 200 million. About 200 km of the 600-km highway has been completed and the remaining 400 km is expected to be ready in two years’ time, with construction currently proceeding at an average rate of 15 km a month.

A link road connecting Gwadar to the Indus highway at Khuzdar is also planned. The link will open up a land trade route between Gwadar port and China via the Karakoram Highway which off takes from the Indus Highway near Islamabad.

I mention all these facts by way of illustrating that Pakistan’s doom-and-gloom brigade of commentators are quite wrong when they say that there is no development work going on and that Pakistan is sinking deeper and deeper into poverty. Yes, the rise in poverty in the last 10 years or so remains a serious problem and one that needs to be urgently addressed. At the same time, however, it has to be said that the situation is not as grim as it is sometimes made out to be.

For one thing, bilateral and multilateral foreign aid inflows to Pakistan have risen to more than $ 4 billion a year since 9/11, after the lifting of US and other western sanctions. For another, there has been a marked improvement in the country’s macro economic indicators in the last two years, with low inflation (3.5 per cent), a significant reduction in foreign debt-servicing payments (which have dropped from 60 per cent of budget revenues to 40 per cent due to debt-rescheduling, lower interest rates and loan write-offs), and a sharp rise in remittance inflows and foreign exchange reserves. Capital markets are also performing well, after having been in the doldrums throughout most of the late 1990s.

Remittances are currently running at about $ 3 billion a year; forex reserves have hit a record $ 10.5 billion; and — wonder of wonders — the high-flying Karachi stock market continues to be the best-performing market in the world, despite occasional hiccups. Even the US war against Iraq has not had much of an adverse effect on stock market, as is evident from the fact that the benchmark KSE-100 share price index has bounced back from a 400-point decline in January and resumed its upward march towards breaking the 3,000-point barrier.

Pakistan’s gross domestic product, which grew by 3.6 per cent in 2002, is on track to grow by 4.5 per cent this year, according to a statement last month by an IMF assessment mission to Pakistan, led by Klaus Enders, assistant director of the fund’s Middle East department. Enders said another encouraging development was that the fiscal deficit had been contained.

Even exports — another key economic indicator — are now showing a reasonably healthy upward trend, after stagnating at around $ 8 billion annually for years. Exports grew by more than 20 per cent during the last nine months over the corresponding period in fiscal 2001-2002, to nearly $ 8 billion for the July 2002-March 2003 period, including $ 938 million in the month of March alone.

At this rate of growth, exports for the fiscal 2002-2003 are expected to exceed $ 10 billion by end May, a month before the end of the current fiscal year on June 30. This will be the first time in Pakistan’s history that this figure will have been crossed.

Buoyed by this improved performance, optimistic government officials are now forecasting exports of $ 11.5 billion for next year. “If we can earn 10 billion dollars this year, let us plan to earn 15 billion dollars in the next two or three years and 20 billion dollars in five years or so,” said Export Promotion Bureau Chairman and Minister of State Tariq Ikram on Saturday.

While all this is still a very far cry from the chart-busting export performance of tiger economies like South Korea and Singapore, it is, at least, a step in the right direction. As they say in China, “Even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
It's been confirmed. Gwadur port will be open six months ahead of schedule - a monumental and historic achievment for Pakistan

Plz pray,
sardarzada

__________________
God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him! How shall we console ourselves, the most murderous of all murderers? The holiest and the mightiest that the world has hitherto possessed, has bled to death under our knife....

Gwadar carries the potential to be the hub of major economic and commercial activities

Gwadar, rapidly surfacing as a new port city at the Mekran Coast of Pakistan is likely to add new colors to the economic and social life in Pakistan. Sensing the role, this newly developed port city is going to play in this region, the international lenders, investors and developers have started showing their keenness to participate in the development of this new port city in Balochistan. The master plan drawn for development of Gwadar port include the development of a deep-draft sea port, most modern aviation facilities at Gwadar port, a network of highways providing linkages between Gwadar and Central Asian Republics with access to all major cities in Pakistan. While engineers from China, the most trusted friend of Pakistan were already busy in the development of Gwadar port, offers from various international donor agencies as well as investors have started pouring in. There is however a word of caution for the people responsible for the development, this city that the electricity which, runs like blood in the economic life, should be planned at the lowest cost. The bitter experience of power purchase agreements with the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) should not be allowed to reoccur, as the exorbitant cost currently being paid by the nation has become the greatest nuisance of the day.

Commenting on the future role of the Gwadar in the socio-economic life of the country, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has expressed his confidence that Gwadar will become the world's most important seaport. In the next few years, Gwadar will make rapid advances in all spheres of economic activities. This strategically significant port city will be the focal point for the domestic as well as foreign investors. With the construction of Gwadar deep seaport and other development projects, there would be lot of job opportunities for the local people as well. The people of Mekran, Balochistan and rest of the country will also get jobs. People in Balochistan in general and in Gwadar in particular are required to be well equipped with training, education, know-how and skill in various fields so that they could get advantage of the openings in this future hub of economic activity. In this respect, the government on its part has decided to establish an institute of Information Technology in Gwadar with an objective to impart up-date IT knowledge and training to the local people. The Prime Minister also announced funds of Rs15 million for electrification of villages around Gwadar.

ROADS

Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has offered $100 million for construction of roads linking Gwadar Port with Central Asian Republics (CARs), Afghanistan and major economic centers within Pakistan. The offer was made in a meeting between a delegation of IDB and senior officials of the Ministry of Communications. Pakistan's geo-strategic location has made it the most attractive place for transit traffic to the land-locked Central Asian Republics. Gwadar Port, scheduled for commissioning in 2005 getting immense attention of the local and international trade for trade with CARs but also for the development of Pakistan. Because of its location, Gwadar carries the potential to be the hub of major economic and commercial activities in the region in the days not far away. The success of Gwadar Port hinges, apart from many other aspects, on the linkage of the port with CARs and Afghanistan besides major urban centers in Pakistan with highways of international standards. The IDB was approached to consider financing of road projects, including the Indus Highway and Ratodero-Khuzdar-Awaran Project. Ratodero-Khuzdar road link would provide a much faster communication from Gwadar Port to the up-country besides linking Gwadar with roads to Quetta-Karachi (N-25), Indus Highway (N-55), and G.T. road (N-5). The Indus Highway is also very important highway providing an alternative to N-5 having a total length of 1265km. When it was developed it will cut the distance by 400km to Karachi and also help overcoming the traffic hazards by reducing the traffic congestion on G.T. road. Out of the total length, 810km stretch has already been rebuilt and improved. Remaining 450km of road needs improvement.

AIRPORT

An international airport equipped with all modern aviation facilities having capacity to receive wide-bodied aircraft at Gwadar will be ready by the end of 2004. Discussion was also held recently on drawing up an integrated master development plan for the Gwadar port. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says that work on expansion of Gwadar airport will begin by the end of August this year and extended facilities would be available for use by end 2004, and would be operational along with the beginning of the Gwadar seaport currently under construction. The facilities provided by the CAA include regular flights of airbus and provision for their maintenance. The new runway will also be able to handle landing of wide-bodied 747 aircraft. The master plan for Gwadar reveals that it will be based on development of about 45,000 acres that would comprise airport, industrial zones, export processing zones, beach development, resorts, housing facilities and all other civic amenities like schools and hospitals over the next 50 years.
KARACHI (October 28 2003): Ship agents have suggested an attractive port tariff for Gwadar Port, due to be ready early 2005, to attract large number of shipping lines. It has further proposed that there should be no unionised labour at the new port to keep the handling cost to a minimal.

The points have been made by Pakistan Ship Agents Association (PSAA) in an agenda prepared for a meeting of the stakeholders, to be chaired by the Communications Secretary.

It said that the port tariff for Gwadar should be attractive as compared to the Karachi Port and Port Qasim and other regional transhipment ports as this would be a key factor in attracting shipping lines.

The policy-makers of Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) should visit regional ports and closely study their experience, it suggested.

The PSAA working paper, submitted to the Ministry of Communications, pointed out that the port labour constituted an important factor towards cargo handling cost.

"This cost at the KPT is very high due to the presence of Karachi Dock Labour Board (KDLB), whilst the labour unions at Port Qasim emulate the same," it said.

There should be no such system at Gwadar Port, ship agents said, adding that stevedores and ship agents should be allowed to engage their own labour force with full rights of hire and fire.

It further suggested that the draft level at the new port should be sufficient to accommodate targeted mother size vessels, and added the private sector should be encouraged to participate in the operational management of the port to achieve better efficiency and economical results.

Therefore, the terms of such participation needed to be determined, said the PSAA paper.

The paper further suggested that the GPA should be authorised to engage internationally renowned maritime consultants to study current and future service patterns of shipping lines, thus enabling the Gwadar Port to position itself accordingly.

The PSAA said that in the event of delay in commissioning of necessary infrastructure, necessary for port operations, the port should start its function as a transhipment port and then switch over to the function of national and transit trade.

The ship agents proposed that the port users be provided land adjacent to the port for the purposes of storage tanks, container parks, warehouses, offices, etc.

Since the availability of land was limited, therefore, allocation of land should be done in a transparent manner with a futuristic vision, it suggested.

All ancillary facilities like water, power, communications, transport, security, bank etc in and outside the port should be provided uninterrupted.

The PSAA suggested that the GPA should ensure simple and fast documentation with respect to all formalities of port, customs, immigration, mercantile marine department (MMD) and other government agencies, especially for transhipment cargoes.

In fact, transhipment should be treated as an extra-territorial operation, ie with no interference.

The PSAA further suggested that the GPA should develop a comprehensive website and a brochure containing all essential information, eg primary objectives, history of Gwadar, road map, port tariff, incentives, facilities etc.

http://www.brecorder.com/story.php?i...term=&supDate=

Plz pray,
Sardarzada

__________________
God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him! How shall we console ourselves, the most murderous of all murderers? The holiest and the mightiest that the world has hitherto possessed, has bled to death under our knife....

Once a small fishing town along the Makran Coast is now set to become a mega seaport which will fulfill the requirement of three geographically important regions, The entire subcontinent, Wes China, central Asia States, and Afghanistan.

The Gwadar Project, recently inaugurated by President Musharraf, is the fourth mega project initiated by the present regime for the uplift of the people of Balochistan-Pakistan's strategically important, yet in socio-economic terms, most neglected province. The other three important projects are Mirani Dam, revival of Saindak Project and Coastal Highway.

Located at the Arabian Sea Coast with vast, arid and extremely backward Mekran Division of Balochistan as hinterland, Gwadar deep sea port, being built with Chinese co-operation, will not only enhance Pakistan's strategic importance in Southwest Asian region, it will usher in a new era of socio-economic development in Balochistan because, as President Pervez Musharraf has rightly pointed out, this area, after the construction of Gwadar Port, will become hub of economic and trade activities in the whole region . The people of Balochistan have for long been in need of such development projects, but unfortunately, almost every past regime had paid only lip service to their demands, doing nothing practically . The need for an alternate deep-sea port has since long been recognised, both from strategic view-point and economic perspectives. Gwadar was the best choice because it offered ideal conditions for building a deep-sea port and secondly, it is situated 470 km away from Karachi, making it less vulnerable to the Indian naval blockade, which Pakistan faced during the 1971 War . Despite the fact that Karachi was increasingly becoming clogged due to heavy cargo, the work on Gwadar suffered from foot-dragging and official apathy. When the military government assumed power, it gave the go ahead and initiated negotiations with China to speed up work on the Gwadar Project. For this purpose, Pakistan's Finance Minister, Mr. Shaukat Aziz visited Beijing in August last year where he signed an agreement with Chinese leaders on the construction of Gwadar deep-sea port and coastal highways. Under the agreement, the Chinese will provide $ 200 million to Pakistan for the construction of the first phase of the project. The total cost would be $ 250 million and the work is proposed to be completed in three years. President Musharraf performed the groundbreaking ceremony of Mekran Coastal Highway, Phase II, Turbat-Mand Road and Mirani Dam on August 17 last year in Gwadar. Pakistan's Minister for Communication, who declared that the area would be made a Free-Trade Zone for exports to the Gulf region, also accompanied the President

The construction of a deep-sea port at Gwadar is just one component of the Greater Gwadar Plan . Under this Plan, which will be carried out by Gwadar Development Authority, in addition to Gwadar port, a network of roads, connecting Gwadar with Karachi, Pasni , Ormara and Turbat will be constructed in four phases. The Coastal Highway linking Karachi with Gwadar (675 km) is being built simultaneously with the port. Other highways, from Pasni to Gwadar (135km), Ormara-Gwadar (275km) and Gwadar-Turbat (188 km) will be built in Phase II of the project. The first two phases of the project, costing about Rs. 3 billion, will be completed in two to three years. In phase III, Pasni will be connected with Ormara and in the fourth phase, Pasni will be connected to Gupt at the Iranian border. This network of roads will finally be connected with China through the Indus Highway. Under an agreement, Pakistan, China, Kazakhistan, Kyrgizstan and Uzbekistan are already committed to developing extensive railroad links from Central Asia and the Chinese province of Sinkiang to the Arabian Sea Coast. The completion of this communication network will not only facilitate the movement of goods from China and Central Asian Republics to the countries of the Persian Gulf, Middle East, East Africa, the Indian Ocean and beyond through Gwadar, the countries of these regions will also have an easy and short route for access to Central Asia for trade and economic co-operation purposes. In this scenario, Gwadar port emerges as a place of great strategic value, giving tremendous boost to Pakistan's importance in the whole region, extending from the Persian Gulf through the Indian Ocean to Southeast Asia and the Far East.


FROM PAKISTAN'S PERSPECTIVE, THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE GWADAR PORT WILL STRENGTHEN ITS ECONOMY AND DEFENCE. GWADAR IS SITUATED AT A DISTANCE OF 470 KM WESTWARD FROM KARACHI ON THE ARABIAN SEA COAST, WHICH MAKES IT A BIT DIFFICULT FOR THE INDIAN NAVY TO ACHIEVE A NAVAL BLOCKADE OF PAKISTAN. The project is being built with Chinese help and co-operation, which will, as President Musharraf said, further strengthen Pak-China friendship . Although Pakistan, during the last about four decades, has provided an opening to China on the countries of the Persian Gulf, Middle East and East Africa, Gwadar will give the Chinese an opportunity to establish for the first time a naval presence in the Arabian Sea and Western part of the Indian Ocean. The Chinese are already comfortably placed in Myanmar in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean; their presence at Gwadar will further increase their naval presence in the Indian Ocean, which has gained strategic prominence in view of America's war on Afghanistan. The Indians as well as Americans seem to be considerably perturbed over the Chinese participation in the Gwadar Project, perceiving it as a bid by the Chinese to gain a strategic footing in the North western part of the Indian Ocean, where the Americans maintain a formidable naval presence through a chain of military bases and concentration of warships and submarines. The Indians have become so alarmed over the Chinese participation in the construction of Gwadar port that their policy makers and strategic planners have strongly urged their government to immediately take measures for the modernisation and up-gradation of the Indian navy, which with two fleets is already the largest naval force in Southeast Asia.

The Gwadar Project, when completed, will bring urgently needed socio-economic development to the Mekran Division of Balochistan, which is the most backward area of the province . Despite the fact that the region is of great historical and strategic value, it lags far behind the other parts of Balochistan in terms of literacy attainment, health facilities and employment opportunities. There is no industry and because of the lack of water, only a small portion of land is brought under cultivation. Most of the people live in rural areas without essential civic amenities like electricity, safe drinking water and health facilities. The dominant profession is cattle breeding, which has also badly suffered over the last few years due to persistent drought and consecutive failure of rains. The Gulf had been a major source of income for the local people, but due to 1991 War and deteriorating economic conditions in the Arab Sheikhdoms, a large majority of the people from Mekran working in the Gulf countries as skilled and unskilled workers have recently returned.

The return of expatriates has not only caused a set back to an already fragile economy of the region, it has led to the rise of serious social problems like narcotics use, smuggling, unemployment, crime and alienation among the youth. The implementation of mega projects like Gwadar is, therefore, extremely important in Balochistan and particularly in Mekran, which politically is one of the most sensitive areas of Pakistan. Apart from such benefits like enhancement of strategic value of the country and tangible socio-economic benefits for the people of the region, the implementation of Gwadar Project would restore the credibility of the federal government of Pakistan among the people of Balochistan who, for the last five decades, have been fed on false promises of development. Take for example, Mirani Dam and Saindak Project. The people of Dasht valley have been hearing about the building of a dam on the Dasht River since fifties. Many a time the plans for its construction were announced. But, then, nothing was heard about them. It is only the present government that has taken concrete steps to implement the Mirani Dam Project. Similarly, the Saindak Project has been revived after a delay of two decades. There is a widespread perception among the people of Balochistan, particularly in Mekran division and coastal areas of the province that their areas are deliberately kept underdeveloped by the federal bureaucracy for political reasons. Through implementation of mega projects like Gwadar, the present government will not only cause socio-economic development in the region, it will make an important contribution to the process of national integration.

More on Gwadar
http://www.pakistaneconomist.com/page/c-issue/i&e4.htm

Plz pray,
sardarzada

__________________
God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him! How shall we console ourselves, the most murderous of all murderers? The holiest and the mightiest that the world has hitherto possessed, has bled to death under our knife....

Detail: Islamabad—The Gwadar deep-sea port, to be completed by March 2005, will have the potential to generate over $ 50 billion in transit trade annually in future. Official sources said after becoming fully operational along with strong communication and transport links with Central Asian States, Iran, western provinces of China and commercial cities of the country, an estimated two-thirds population of Balochistan will become part of port-related activities. The mega project which includes construction of three berths in the first phase will generate job opportunities for thousands of people. Having the potential to handle ships over 50,000 tons weight, the port will have huge cargoes for transiting to the Gulf region through smaller ships. Reports emanating from the Gulf region suggest that authorities there are keenly interested in the project and for its early completion as their over-saturated warm water ports cannot absorb further pressures. The sources said situated on mouth of the Gulf, the warm water Gwadar port will wait for transit of huge discovered and undiscovered estimated 2500 billion barrels of oil in Central Asian Region to different destinations as the fuel-thirsty nations are looking towards this region to meet their future needs. The nearest port for such facilities is this under-construction port. This port will become a gate-way for the region. It also offers special opportunity for land-locked Afghanistan. The sources said foreign consultants have been engaged to overview the plan prepared by the Nespak for the port city. Modifications are expected in the original plan.
Source by Pakistan Observer

Plz pray,
Sardarzada

__________________
God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him! How shall we console ourselves, the most murderous of all murderers? The holiest and the mightiest that the world has hitherto possessed, has bled to death under our knife....

From Our Correspondent
ISLAMABAD – The Malaysian investors have offered setting up of Timber & Furniture Industries and by-product of Steel Mill like Ash in Karachi to promote the construction industry in Pakistan.
They also showed interest in establishment of Electrical Storage Systems as well as setting up of Petro-Chemical industry in Pakistan.
A two- member Malaysian delegation led by Teo Ah Khing, called on the Federal Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives, Jahangir Khan Tareen and expressed their interest to invest millions of dollars in various sectors in industrial and manufacturing sectors in Pakistan.
The Minister while welcoming their offer said that Pakistan was pursuing a liberal industrial policy which aimed to attract investment through joint collaboration by creating an investor-friendly environment, with a focus on further opening up the economy and marketing potential for direct foreign investment.
The Minister informed the delegation that infrastructure and telecommunication and road network are being expanded to encourage the investors to come forward for making investment in the industrial sector .
The minister further informed the delegation that the Gawader Port is an ideal location, where foreign investors can explore the possibility of investment in the fields of petrochemical, steel products and other export-oriented industries as the government has declared Gwadar as Duty Free Zone, he added.
He said that Gwadar Port and Free Trade Zone will have access for South Asian Central Republics and Afghanistan through land route.
He further said that Government of Pakistan is planning to set up a World Class Industrial Parks near Port Qasim to invite foreign investor to make investment.
The Minister assured the delegation his full support to provide every facility to them in making investment in Pakistan
The leader of Malaysian delegation, Mr. Teo appreciated the economic reforms introduced by the Pakistan during the last five years.
He was of the view that Pakistan now offers great incentives and a conducive environment for making foreign investment. He paid thanks to the minister for extending his support.


Plz pray,
Sardarzada

__________________
God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him! How shall we console ourselves, the most murderous of all murderers? The holiest and the mightiest that the world has hitherto possessed, has bled to death under our knife....