GWADAR, March 21: President Gen Pervez Musharraf, will perform the ground-breaking ceremony of the Gwadar deep-sea port here on Friday. Vice-Premier of the People’s Republic of China would also attend the ceremony.
According to official sources, the Chinese government is providing a soft loan of $198 million while the contribution of Pakistan government is to be $50 million for the first phase of this mega project.
The federal government had already allocated Rs1 billion in the current budget, with funds already released. The federal government allocation would be used in meeting the local currency component of the project.
The project would be completed in three phases. In the first phase, three berths will be constructed besides dredging of the navigational channel by the Chinese, preparing the ground for the third important port in Pakistan. The first phase will be completed in three years.
In the same phase, the president also inducted the National Highway Authority (NHA) and the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) for the construction of Mekran Coastal Highway, ultimately linking Gwadar port with the rest of the world.
Initially, the NHA and FWO were building the Liari-Ormara section of Mekran Coastal Highway, ending the road at the naval base in Ormara.
But the president instructed all concerned that they should build the highway from the Gwadar-end also so that it is complete with the construction of deep-water port.
However, some of the officials in both the organizations were of the view that the project would not be complete by the deadline if works were started from two different directions as directed.
They contended that the federal government would not release enough funds to meet the requirement of road building. In the second phase, the Gwadar Port will be having 18 additional berths, besides an oil terminal, a container terminal and other related facilities.
The president himself took the lead in seeking support of the Chinese government during the worst-ever economic crisis Pakistan faced following imposition of economic sanctions by the US and its allies after nuclear explosions.
The Chinese had agreed to finance the Gwadar project and make significant investment for resuming production of copper and gold at Saindak much before the Sept 11 kamikaz action in New York and Washington.
The Chinese would be investing around $30 million to resume production at the Saindak copper and gold project. They will establish a refinery, separating gold from blister copper. Otherwise, they would have to transport the blister copper from Saindak to China for refining and separation of gold from blister copper. Alternatively, the Pakistan government would have to secure the services and facilities of the refinery at the Surchashma copper plant in the neighbouring Iran against payment of a huge amount of money.
The federal government is also building the Mirani Dam in Dasht plains which will provide a vast green belt around the Gwadar port. The dam is being built by Wapda at a cost of Rs7.5 billion. It will spare around 300 cusecs of water for industrial and commercial use by future port city of Gwadar, including for ships making port call, besides irrigating more than 50,000 acres in the highly fertile plains.
In the meantime, the Balochistan government is making its modest efforts at developing the area or preparing the ground for massive economic development on the Balochistan coast. The provincial government is building a parallel road connecting Gwadar with Saindak. It runs parallel to the Iran-Pakistan border, making it the shortest route to reach Central Asia from the warm waters of Balochistan.
