GWADAR, June 17: Amid tight security provided by the Pakistan Navy, Chinese engineers and several hundred local workers are working round the clock to complete the first phase of the Gwadar Deep Sea Port ahead of schedule, a team of journalists touring the port were told on Thursday.

After the car bomb explosion in May which killed three Chinese engineers and injured 11 others, security has been increased in and around the future port city with the deployment of Pakistan Navy and other law-enforcement agencies.

The security of the under-construction port has been handed over to Pakistan Navy while in the city areas the law enforcement agencies personnel, including Frontier Corps, are deployed. The Chinese engineers and workers were also shifted to the under construction port for security reasons.

The Chairman Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), Admiral (Retd) Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan, during a visit here told media men that the work was in full progress for completing the first phase of the Gwadar port before the stipulated time.

"The port will be operational in December this year," he said, adding that the first phase of the mega project would cast US$ 248 million. He said that according to the contract the project should be completed in 37 months.

Project Director Commodore Munir Wahid and Director General Operations, Commodore Anwar Mohyuddin were also present on the occasion. The Chairman GPA said that the Chinese company has completed over 70 per cent work of the port and the remaining was expected to be completed by the end of this year.

He said in the first phase, the port will have three berths, each about 200 metres in length, while in the second and third phase 10 more berths would be constructed, each about 300 meters long.

About Gwadar, Admiral Sarfraz Ahmed Khan said that around 18,000 hectares of additional land would be required for the development of the port and other allied facilities.