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The Chinese have mobilized
450 personal from China and hired 512 local
workmen as per following detail:-
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Chinese: 450
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Pakistani: 512
Civil Works and
Infrastructure Development:
The design and construction
of residential buildings and civil works of
various port operation buildings and related
infrastructure development is to be
undertaken by Pakistani contractors and
firms out of the US dollars 50 Million
allocated for the Project. In this regard
consultants have been hired and process for
pre-qualification of contractors has
commenced. Similarly, award of contract for
the construction of residential area was
approved by the MOC in June 2003 and the
Contractor has already fully mobilized and a
construction activity has started.
Master Plan of Gwadar:
Concurrent with the Port
development a Master Plan of Gwadar has been
approved by Balochistan Government through
NESPAK and which has been a hot topic of
discussions at various forums.
Implementation of the Master Plan is the
responsibility of Govt. of Balochistan.
Physically no headway has been made so far
which is a matter of concern.
The following potentials have
been identified in the Master Plan of Gwadar
Deep Sea-port Project:
-
Increased trade to and from
Balochistan and Iran.
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Trade potential from Central
Asian countries through Afghanistan.
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Transit cargo (liquid and dry
bulk)
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Warehousing and assembly
industries (EPZ)
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Oil storage, refineries,
petrochemical industries etc.
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Handle the shipping traffic
of the region.
Gwadar Master Plan envisages
development of about 18,600 hectares of land
for this project including the followings:
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Port development in Phase 1 &
11 on 400 hectares.
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An Export Processing Zone of
74 hectares located on land adjacent to the
port in East Bay.
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A Special Industrial Zone of
about 4,000 hectares lying to the north of
the town.
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An oil refinery of 1,000
hectares located to the north east of the
town, linked to the proposed oil terminal by
an underground pipeline across East Bay.
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A residential area of 400
hectares stretching north of the existing
town along West Bay.
To bring Gwadar close to the
national mainstream, 700 Km long Makran
Coastal Highway is in advanced stage of
implementation. It will link Gwadar with
Pasni, Ormara and Karachi. An other regional
linkage is the Gwadar Ratto-Dero motorway
linking it with Indus Highway through Turbat,
Awaran and Khuzdar. A rail link is also
planned to connect Gwadar to Quetta and
Zahidan. Civil Aviation Authority also plans
to upgrade the existing length of runway
from 5,000 ft to 15,000 ft for operation of
wide bodied jet air-crafts. The extension
work will begin by end August, 2003 and the
extension facilities will be available for
use by end 2004.
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Besides the Geostrategic
importance mentioned earlier, some of the
evident economic benefits of the development
of Gwadar Port are:
-
Capitalize on opportunities
for trade with landlocked Central Asian
States and Afghanistan.
-
Promote trade and transport
with Gulf States.
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Trans-shipment essentially of
containerized cargo.
-
Unlock the development
potential of hinterland.
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Diversion of influx of human
resources from up country to Gwadar instead
of Karachi.
-
Socio economic uplift of the
province of Balochistan.
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Establishment of shipping
related industries.
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Oil storage, refinery and
petrochemicals
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Export Processing and
Industrial Zones
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Reduce congestion &
dependency on existing Ports Complex at
Karachi/PQA.
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Serve as an alternate port to
handle Pakistani trade in case of blockade
of existing ports.
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Will become a Regional Hub
for major trade and commercial activities.
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