Global InformationGwadar information
Gwadar
گوادر | |
|---|---|
Port city | |
From top, left to right: Gwadar coastline, Blue Lagoon at Gwadar, Gwadar Fishing Basin, Gwadar Sangar Flagpole, Gwadar Port, Gwadar Bay | |
  Gwadar  Gwadar | |
| Coordinates: 25°07′35″N 62°19′21″E / 25.12639°N 62.32250°E | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province |  Balochistan |
| District | Gwadar |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal Corporation |
| • Body | Gwadar Development Authority |
| • Mayor | Muhammad Sharif Miah Dad |
| • Deputy Commissioner | Izzat Nazeer Baloch (BPS-18 PAS) |
| • District Police Officer | Muhammad Jawad Tariq (BPS-18 PSP) |
| Population (2017)[1] | |
| • Total | 90,762 |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Postal code | 91200 |
| Calling code | +92 |
| Number of towns | 1 |
| Number of Union councils | 5 |
| Website | www |
 | |
Gwadar (Urdu: گوادر, Urdu pronunciation: [gəʋɑːd̪əɾ]) is a port city on the southwestern coast of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea, opposite Oman and has a population of over 90,000, according to the 2017 census. It was an overseas possession of Oman from 1783 to 1958.[2] It is about 120 km (75 mi) southwest of Turbat. The sister port city of Chabahar in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan provinces is about 170 km (110 mi) to the west of Gwadar. On 2 April 2021, it was declared the capital of the south Balochistan region.[3]
The main industrial concern is a fish-processing factory. Gwadar became part of the sultanate of Muscat and Oman in 1797, and it was not until 1958 that the town and adjoining hinterland were exchanged from Oman to Pakistan.
Gwadar came in the focus of attention after the Kargil War when Pakistan felt the need of having a military naval port and the Karachi-Gwadar Road (Coastal Highway) was built for defence purposes.[4] 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.[5] Until 2001, the area's potential to be a major deep water port remained untapped under successive Pakistani governments, when construction on the first phase of Gwadar Port was initiated in 2007.[6] The first phase costed $248 million.[7] 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.[8]
In April 2015, Pakistan and China announced their intention to develop the $46 billion China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),[9] which in turn forms part of China's ambitious One Belt, One Road.[10] Gwadar features heavily in CPEC, and is also envisaged to be the link between the One Belt, One Road and Maritime Silk Road project.[11] $1.153 billion worth of infrastructure projects will be invested into the city as part of CPEC,[12] with the aim of linking northern Pakistan and western China to the deep water seaport.[13] 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 Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline project.[14] Despite concerns over the United States sanctions on Iran, Pakistan is going ahead constructing a pipeline from the Iranian border to Gwadar as of 2024. This is partly to avoid contractual penalties and partly to avoid over reliance on the Gwadar Coal–Power Plant which requires imported coal.[15] In addition to investments directly under the aegis of CPEC in the Gwadar city, the China Overseas Port Holding Company in June, 2016, began construction on the $2 billion Gwadar Special Economic Zone,[16] which is being modelled on the lines of the special economic zones of China.[17] In September, 2016, the Gwadar Development Authority published a request for tenders for the preparation of expropriation and resettlement of Old Town Gwadar.[18]
- ^ "POPULATION AND HOUSEHOLD DETAIL FROM BLOCK TO DISTRICT LEVEL" (PDF). GWADAR_BLOCKWISE.pdf. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ Serim (18 May 2017). "Gwadar: the Sultan's Possession". qdl.qa. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ "Gwadar becomes capital of South Balochistan". Pakistan Today. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ Shahzada Irfan Ahmed (3 September 2017). "CPEC is not a game-changer, it's game over" (Interview: Kaiser Bengali). The News on Sunday. The News International. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Gwadar port: 'history-making milestones'". Dawn. 14 April 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- ^ Mathias, Hartpence (15 July 2011). The Economic Dimension of Sino-Pakistan Relations: An Overview. pp. 581–589.
- ^ Walsh, Declan (31 January 2013). "Chinese Company Will Run Strategic Pakistani Port". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
China paid for 75 percent of the $248 million construction costs,
- ^ "China set to run Gwadar port as Singapore quits". Asia Times. 5 September 2012. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Aneja, Atul (18 April 2015). "Xi comes calling to Pakistan, bearing gifts worth $46 billion". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ Hussain, Tom (19 April 2015). "China's Xi in Pakistan to cement huge infrastructure projects, submarine sales". McClatchy News. Islamabad: mcclatchydc.
- ^ Saran, Shyam (10 September 2015). "What China's One Belt and One Road Strategy Means for India, Asia and the World". The Wire (India). Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ See list of projects: List of projects $230million for Gwadar Airport, $114m desalination plant, $35m for special economic zone infrastructure, $360m for coal plant, $140m for Eastbay Expressway, $100m for hospital, $130m for breakwaters, $27m for dredging. Sum of figures = $1.153 billion
- ^ "Industrial potential: Deep sea port in Gwadar would turn things around". The Express Tribune. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "China to build $2.5 billion worth LNG terminal, gas pipeline in Pakistan". Deccan Chronicle. 10 January 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- ^ The Diplomat:2023/06:Pakistan and Iran seal energy deal to power Gwadar
- ^ "Construction of industrial free zone in Gwadar begins". The Express Tribune. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), Chairman Dostain Khan Jamaldini said that the construction of Gwadar Free Zone is underway at a cost of US$2 billion.
- ^ Li, Yan. "Groundwork laid for China-Pakistan FTZ". ECNS. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "Short term consultancy required for study and preparation of PC1 document for expropriation and resettlement of Old Town Gwadar". Gwadar Development Authority. Retrieved 6 October 2016.[permanent dead link]