ISLAMABAD, Jan 9: Communications Minister Ahmad Ali said on Thursday that the Gwadar port would become operational by July 2005.

Presiding over a meeting of the Gwadar implementation committee, he said the project was among the top priorities of the government.

The committee decided to gear up the pace of work for providing infrastructure at Gwadar. The minister directed the authorities concerned to provide basic facilities like water, power, gas and telecommunication at Gwadar port. He asked the Civil Aviation Authority to upgrade the facilities at the local airport.

He said there should be a desalination plant and an electricity generation station at Gwadar. He said the port would usher in an era of economic uplift in the region. He said the project would be completed with the assistance of China.

The meeting reviewed the setting up of a special economic zone at Gwadar. Communications Secretary Iftikhar Rashid called for better coordination among government departments to provide infrastructure at Gwadar.

National Highway Authority Chairman Maj-Gen Farrukh Javed informed the committee that the Makran coastal highway would be completed by June to link Gwadar with Karachi.