By: FAIQA ABDULHAYE
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, Balochistan shares borders with Afghanistan and Iran to the west - Gwadar is just 72kms from the Iranian border. More important is Gwadar’s proximity to the Persian Gulf.
It is situated near the mouth of this strategic body of water, and about 400km from the Strait of Hormuz, a major conduit for global oil supplies. It was only in 2001 that significant steps toward making the proposal a reality were taken, when China agreed to participate in the construction and development of the deep seaport. The arrival of the United States in late 2001 in Afghanistan - at China’s doorstep - nudged Beijing to step up its involvement in the Gwadar project. In March 2002, Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Bangguo laid the foundation for Gwadar port.
The Gwadar Project, inaugurated by President Musharraf, is the fourth mega project initiated by the present regime for the uplift of the people of Balochistan. The other three important projects are Mirani Dam, revival of Saindak Project and Coastal Highway.
Gwadar was the best choice because it offered ideal conditions for building a deep seaport and secondly it is less vulnerable to the Indian naval blockade, which Pakistan faced during the 1971 War.
The construction of a deep seaport at Gwadar is just one component of the Greater Gwadar Plan. Under this plan, which will be carried out by Gwadar Development Authority, besides a network of roads, connecting Gwadar with Karachi, Pasni, Ormara and Turbat will be constructed in four phases.
His network of roads will finally be connected with China through the Indus Highway. Under an agreement, Pakistan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are already committed to developing extensive railroad links from Central Asia and the Chinese province of Sinkiang to the Arabian Sea Coast. Thus this link will have greater benefits.
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.
For Pakistan, the economic returns from Gwadar port stem from its location near the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 percent of the world’s oil passes. Gwadar could emerge as a key shipping point, bringing Pakistan much-needed income, and when combined with the surrounding areas could become a trade hub, once road and rail links connect it to the rest of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
The Gwadar Project, when completed, will bring urgently needed socio-economic development to the Makran 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.
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 Makran working in the Gulf countries as skilled and unskilled workers have recently returned.
Gwadar is, therefore, extremely important in Balochistan and particularly in Makran, 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. 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.
Ultimately, the extent to which Pakistan and China are able to reap economic and strategic gains from the Gwadar project would depend on the challenges to it from within their borders. The Gwadar project is bitterly opposed by Baloch nationalists who see it as yet another example of Pakistan’s Punjabi-dominated ruling elite siphoning away Balochi wealth and resources without this backward region or its people gaining.
For instance, it is non-Baloch’s who are said to have gained from the sharp rise in real estate prices around Gwadar. This has, not surprisingly, triggered angry and violent attacks on pipelines carrying oil from Balochistan and on those working on the Gwadar project. Last May, three Chinese engineers were killed and 11 others, including nine Chinese and two Pakistanis, were injured in a bomb attack.
Pakistan has often blamed "a foreign hand" (read India or Iran) for the violence in Balochistan. But the threat to the port project or the oil pipelines comes from disaffected Baloch.
Some of the evident investment opportunities are:
" Master Plan related infrastructure i.e. internal roads and services, water and power and communication services for the new township and the industrial zone.
" Private owned warehouses and cold storages.
" Private cargo handling equipment and trucking yards.
" Corporate infrastructure i.e. offices for operating firms and agencies.
" Development of industrial zone and industries.
" Development of commercial/residential areas and buildings.
" Labour related amenities for thousands of workers employed on developmental work of Greater Gwadar.
" Hospitals, colleges and schools.
" Tourism related industry.
" Marine related industry i.e. shipyards, dry dock and repair yards.
" Marine fuel bunkering for visiting ships to include large fuel storages and mobile barges etc.
" Oil refinery and large oil storages.
" Ferry services between Gwadar-Karachi/Oman/Bunder Abbas and UAE.
" Industrial export processing zone
" Hinterland road; Gwadar - Rattodero Expressway (735 km) will pass through Turbat-Awaran-Khuzdar and Shahdad Kot.
" Gwadar-Quetta (via Turbat-Panjgoor-Kharan-Nushki) requires to be widened and improved. This link road will reduce the distance to Quetta from 1090 km to 795 km.
" Railway; Gwadar - Panjgoor-Dalbadin (515 km).
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/may-2005/21/columns4.php |
