Gwadar will be hub of trade, investment activities: DG GDA

ISLAMABAD, Oct 31 (SABAH): The master plan of Gwadar smart port city envisions the development of industrial base, thus the city will be the hub of trade and economic activities, and a great attraction for tourists, investors, and labour.

These views were expressed by Mujeebur Rehman Qambrani, the Director-General of Gwadar Development Authority (GDA), while speaking at a special session on “Gwadar and the Road to Sustainable Development” organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute here.

He said that masterplan of Gwadar port city is inspired by China’s city of Shenzhen and GDA is vigorously executing it for a timely delivery. “More than five years were spent on refining this master plan with close collaboration between Pakistan, China and other stakeholders,” he added.

He apprised the participants regarding various projects, including Asia’s largest airport to be functional in 2023, plans for implementing safe city model, oil and gas infrastructure for smart energy modeling in the city, maritime tourism and extensive plans for ferry transport and freight and railways network connecting Gwadar with Karachi and other parts of the country.

He said this year the DGA will inaugurate work on ambitious Central Business District in Gwadar to be spread over 12.3 square kilometers to encourage fast track development through public-private partnerships.

The district will be developed in 10 years will cost around Rs 84-90 billion and Rs 400 billion of profit is estimated to be generated. Cognizant of the environmental concerns in development, he said there are plans for solar park as well as various on and off-grid solutions to meet the energy demand of the city. Mentioning initiatives to meet the energy demand, he said that 100MW will be added to system in Gwadar to bridge energy demand-supply gap through partnership with Iran.

On water supply management initiatives, he informed that two freshwater dams have been connected to meet the high water demands. Though water is ample, management issues have marred the distribution system, which will be replaced. He said that a separate governance structure has been agreed by the federal and provincial governments for one-window operations to enable swift decision-making.

Dr Hassan Daud Butt, Senior Advisor, China Study Centre, said that keeping in view the demand for new jobs in the country, it is crucial to embrace technology faster than our current pace to improve productivity and avail future economic opportunities.

He said that Sino-Pak cooperation in connection with CPEC and COVID-19 has transformed our technological pace. He said China is building an enabling environment for business and economic opportunities in our country, therefore, we must prepare ourselves to capture the same.

He said that the world is on the verge of a new economic transformation with Turkey introducing Islamic financial system and Fortune 500 companies are mushrooming in China rather than USA.

Dr Sajid Amin, Deputy Executive Director, SDPI said that development sector and civil society organizations can play a pivotal role as knowledge partners and in the advocacy of the immense socio-economic potential of Gwadar. He lauded the efforts of GDA to develop linkages and research collaborations with think tanks and civil society to support and highlight the initiatives being undertaken in the development of Gwadar.