Cool!
Kaleem Omar on Gwadar Project. I bet he nailed all the points. 
Pakistan’s doom-and-gloom brigade of commentators are quite wrong when they say that there is no development work going on and that Pakistan is sinking deeper and deeper into poverty.
POETIC LICENCE: Gwadar could be the new economic frontier
Recent days have seen a series of conferences aimed at promoting foreign investment in Pakistan, with several more such moots due to take place in the days ahead, including a meeting of government officials, bankers and adventurous entrepreneurs to be held in Gwadar on April 28 under the auspices of the Board of Investment, headed by Wasim Haqqie. The keynote speaker at the Gwadar conference will be Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz.
Earlier this month, Aziz told a team of visiting Chinese experts in Islamabad that the Asian Development Bank was coordinating the convening of a conference of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan for the construction of linkage facilities with Gwadar port, which is currently under construction by the Chinese. **It is expected to become a gateway port for Central Asia and the western Chinese province of Xingjiang. **
**Development plans for Gwadar include an export processing zone, an industrial zone, a hotel zone, a pollution-free residential zone, and a new Rs 450 million airport with a 9,000-foot jet runway capable of handling Airbus and Boeing aircrafts. **
A Chinese company is working at top speed on the new port’s first phase, with the construction of two breakwaters, three ship’s berths, a container terminal and related shore facilities due to be completed six months ahead of schedule by the end of next year at a cost of $ 250 million. China has given $ 198 in aid for the project, while the rest of the money has been contributed by the Pakistan government.
In the project’s second phase, which is expected to be launched in early 2005, 23 more berths and related facilities will be built at an estimated cost of $ 500 million. During Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s visit to Beijing last month, the Chinese government is said to have agreed in principle to also consider funding construction of the second phase.
**Work has also begun on the construction of Mirani Dam, north of Gwadar. The project is part of the Water and Power Development Authority’s ambitious “Vision 2025” programme and will supply water for irrigating 30,000 acres of land for agriculture as well as supplying water for domestic, commercial and industrial needs to Gwadar and other communities in the Mekran coastal region. **
Meanwhile, work on the **Coastal Highway linking Karachi to Gwadar is also proceeding at top speed. It is being built by the Pakistan Army’s Frontier Works Organisation at a cost of $ 200 million. About 200 km of the 600-km highway has been completed and the remaining 400 km is expected to be ready in two years’ time, with construction currently proceeding at an average rate of 15 km a month. **
A link road connecting Gwadar to the Indus highway at Khuzdar is also planned. The link will open up a land trade route between Gwadar port and China via the Karakoram Highway which off takes from the Indus Highway near Islamabad.
I mention all these facts by way of illustrating that Pakistan’s doom-and-gloom brigade of commentators are quite wrong when they say that there is no development work going on and that Pakistan is sinking deeper and deeper into poverty. **Yes, the rise in poverty in the last 10 years or so remains a serious problem and one that needs to be urgently addressed. At the same time, however, it has to be said that the situation is not as grim as it is sometimes made out to be. **
**For one thing, bilateral and multilateral foreign aid inflows to Pakistan have risen to more than $ 4 billion a year since 9/11, after the lifting of US and other western sanctions. For another, there has been a marked improvement in the country’s macro economic indicators in the last two years, with low inflation (3.5 per cent), a significant reduction in foreign debt-servicing payments (which have dropped from 60 per cent of budget revenues to 40 per cent due to debt-rescheduling, lower interest rates and loan write-offs), and a sharp rise in remittance inflows and foreign exchange reserves. Capital markets are also performing well, after having been in the doldrums throughout most of the late 1990s.
Remittances are currently running at about $ 3 billion a year; forex reserves have hit a record $ 10.5 billion; and — wonder of wonders — the high-flying Karachi stock market continues to be the best-performing market in the world, despite occasional hiccups.** Even the US war against Iraq has not had much of an adverse effect on stock market, as is evident from the fact that the benchmark KSE-100 share price index has bounced back from a 400-point decline in January and resumed its upward march towards breaking the 3,000-point barrier.
Pakistan’s gross domestic product, which grew by 3.6 per cent in 2002, is on track to grow by 4.5 per cent this year, according to a statement last month by an IMF assessment mission to Pakistan, led by Klaus Enders, assistant director of the fund’s Middle East department. Enders said another encouraging development was that the fiscal deficit had been contained.
**Even exports — another key economic indicator — are now showing a reasonably healthy upward trend, after stagnating at around $ 8 billion annually for years. Exports grew by more than 20 per cent during the last nine months over the corresponding period in fiscal 2001-2002, to nearly $ 8 billion for the July 2002-March 2003 period, including $ 938 million in the month of March alone.
At this rate of growth, exports for the fiscal 2002-2003 are expected to exceed $ 10 billion by end May, a month before the end of the current fiscal year on June 30. This will be the first time in Pakistan’s history that this figure will have been crossed.**
Buoyed by this improved performance, optimistic government officials are now forecasting exports of $ 11.5 billion for next year. “If we can earn 10 billion dollars this year, let us plan to earn 15 billion dollars in the next two or three years and 20 billion dollars in five years or so,” said Export Promotion Bureau Chairman and Minister of State Tariq Ikram on Saturday.
While all this is still a very far cry from the chart-busting export performance of tiger economies like South Korea and Singapore, it is, at least, a step in the right direction. As they say in China, “Even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
It’s been confirmed. Gwadur port will be open six months ahead of schedule - a monumental and historic achievment for Pakistan. :k:
http://www.dawn.com/2003/07/17/nat24.htm
Gawadar port to be completed ahead of schedule
The Gwadar port project will be completed six months ahead of schedule. This was stated by Federal Minister for Communication, Senator Ahmed Ali, while addressing a press conference here on Wednesday. He said the government and the Chinese company were trying their best to complete the project at the earliest. He said the port activity had already started and four ships had left after off-loading 10,000 tones of material at Gawadar, wihch showed the channel had become deep enough for movement of ships and now only a jetty was required which was being constructed speedily. He added that the roads in the port zone would be completed within a short time and the government was also taking up a de-salination project there. “Within two years, Baluchistan would be fully linked with the Northern areas of the country”, the minister said.
President Pervez Musharraf, he said, was keen to see that a truck leaving the Karachi port Trust reached Kohat within 24 hours. He said the truck movement on roads was the best indicator of economic activity in a country. He said the KPT had been asked to construct a bridge to the Northern Bypass and the work on it would start soon. To a question, the minister said the shipping sector was mainly faced with the cargo/freight problem as a ship under the Pakistani flag was barred from touching Indian ports and no businessman would bring a ship under the Pakistani flag unless he got load. The situation, he said, would change only when relations between Pakistan and India improved. “From day first, when the new era of improved relations with India will start, the economic activity will gear up and private companies will bring their new ships under the Pakistani flag,” he said. The communication minister said there was big potential in the oil sector and the government had singed many contracts with local refineries. He informed that the PNSC had a fleet of 13 ships which had failed to earn that much as a single oil tanker did. " We bring oil by a contract tanker which gives us a good amount of profit to meet the expenses." The minister appreciated the efforts by the PNSC chairman to turn the organization into a viable and profitable enterprenuer. About the purchase of oil tankers by PNSC, he said, the process was near completion as quotations had been received and bargaining with the leading foreign companies was continuing. He said the PNSC would have acquired tankers earlier, but after the Iraq war the matter was delayed because of reluctance on part of the companies, and now negotiations had been re-started with foreign companies of good repute for acquisition of tankers and “hopefully we will have good news within three months”.
Replying to a question, the minister noted that the KPT needed some correction specially on the financial side as it had failed to attract business. "Its berths remain unoccupied due to high cess which can be reduced only with a cut in overheads. He specially referred to the KPT’s labour cost against their insignificant contribution as, he observed, much of the operation was mechanized/automatic. He said rupees one billion were spent on the KPT labour annually, and another billion on the Dock Labour Board. He said that a KPT driver drew Rs25,000 as monthly salary, while a sweeper’s salary was Rs17,000. The minister said that a golden handshake scheme for KPT employees was in the offing to rid the port from the unjustified burden of operational expenses. “The golden handshake scheme is on my table. It will be announced soon after a careful study and revision for the maximum possible benefits of the employees. I hope that each person will get at least 800,000 rupees,” he said. The federal minister announced that no person would be given extension after completing 60 years of service as the government wanted them to be replaced by youths who were running pillar to post for jobs. -APP
wow thats excellent … deep too because first i was liek wat the hell but after i read the article they want go as far as china and beyond hmmmm wasay will the transport be viable and wat abotu smugling?
excellent 6 months early :k:
Hope So
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by mAd_ScIeNtIsT: *
Truly excellent news. Baluchistan has been neglected by far too many governments in the past, both military and democratic.
It takes a leader like Musharraf, totally dedicated to the betterment of the country and the people, to finally put an end to this neglect and raise Baluchistan to the level of importance and development that it deserves.
[/QUOTE]
mashallah.. good news for Pakistan, go general go/./.
Great news!
Musharraf Zindabad!
Pakistan Zindabad!
Muslim Ummat Paindabad!
More on Gwadur Port, and it’s significance for Pakistan and the region…
http://www.pakistaneconomist.com/page/issue21/f&m2.htm
GWADAR: ATTRACTING INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS
Gwadar carries the potential to be the hub of major economic and commercial activities
Gwadar, rapidly surfacing as a new port city at the Mekran Coast of Pakistan is likely to add new colors to the economic and social life in Pakistan. Sensing the role, this newly developed port city is going to play in this region, the international lenders, investors and developers have started showing their keenness to participate in the development of this new port city in Balochistan. The master plan drawn for development of Gwadar port include the development of a deep-draft sea port, most modern aviation facilities at Gwadar port, a network of highways providing linkages between Gwadar and Central Asian Republics with access to all major cities in Pakistan. While engineers from China, the most trusted friend of Pakistan were already busy in the development of Gwadar port, offers from various international donor agencies as well as investors have started pouring in. There is however a word of caution for the people responsible for the development, this city that the electricity which, runs like blood in the economic life, should be planned at the lowest cost. The bitter experience of power purchase agreements with the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) should not be allowed to reoccur, as the exorbitant cost currently being paid by the nation has become the greatest nuisance of the day.
Commenting on the future role of the Gwadar in the socio-economic life of the country, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has expressed his confidence that Gwadar will become the world’s most important seaport. In the next few years, Gwadar will make rapid advances in all spheres of economic activities. This strategically significant port city will be the focal point for the domestic as well as foreign investors. With the construction of Gwadar deep seaport and other development projects, there would be lot of job opportunities for the local people as well. The people of Mekran, Balochistan and rest of the country will also get jobs. People in Balochistan in general and in Gwadar in particular are required to be well equipped with training, education, know-how and skill in various fields so that they could get advantage of the openings in this future hub of economic activity. In this respect, the government on its part has decided to establish an institute of Information Technology in Gwadar with an objective to impart up-date IT knowledge and training to the local people. The Prime Minister also announced funds of Rs15 million for electrification of villages around Gwadar.
ROADS
Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has offered $100 million for construction of roads linking Gwadar Port with Central Asian Republics (CARs), Afghanistan and major economic centers within Pakistan. The offer was made in a meeting between a delegation of IDB and senior officials of the Ministry of Communications. Pakistan’s geo-strategic location has made it the most attractive place for transit traffic to the land-locked Central Asian Republics. Gwadar Port, scheduled for commissioning in 2005 getting immense attention of the local and international trade for trade with CARs but also for the development of Pakistan. Because of its location, Gwadar carries the potential to be the hub of major economic and commercial activities in the region in the days not far away. The success of Gwadar Port hinges, apart from many other aspects, on the linkage of the port with CARs and Afghanistan besides major urban centers in Pakistan with highways of international standards. The IDB was approached to consider financing of road projects, including the Indus Highway and Ratodero-Khuzdar-Awaran Project. Ratodero-Khuzdar road link would provide a much faster communication from Gwadar Port to the up-country besides linking Gwadar with roads to Quetta-Karachi (N-25), Indus Highway (N-55), and G.T. road (N-5). The Indus Highway is also very important highway providing an alternative to N-5 having a total length of 1265km. When it was developed it will cut the distance by 400km to Karachi and also help overcoming the traffic hazards by reducing the traffic congestion on G.T. road. Out of the total length, 810km stretch has already been rebuilt and improved. Remaining 450km of road needs improvement.
AIRPORT
An international airport equipped with all modern aviation facilities having capacity to receive wide-bodied aircraft at Gwadar will be ready by the end of 2004. Discussion was also held recently on drawing up an integrated master development plan for the Gwadar port. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says that work on expansion of Gwadar airport will begin by the end of August this year and extended facilities would be available for use by end 2004, and would be operational along with the beginning of the Gwadar seaport currently under construction. The facilities provided by the CAA include regular flights of airbus and provision for their maintenance. The new runway will also be able to handle landing of wide-bodied 747 aircraft. The master plan for Gwadar reveals that it will be based on development of about 45,000 acres that would comprise airport, industrial zones, export processing zones, beach development, resorts, housing facilities and all other civic amenities like schools and hospitals over the next 50 years.
:k: :k: :k:
Plans afoot to upgrade massive sections of the railway system througout Balochistan, and hopefully there will be more movement on this front soon.
Gwadar to be linked with rail network
The railway authorities have planned to spread its rail network to Gwadar port to claim share in the freight hauling business from the new port to upcountry, Afghanistan and central Asian states. For this purpose the railways will have to lay a new track over hundreds of kilometres. It will be the first mega project since the creation of Pakistan. Tenders for granting a feasibility study contract for the project will be opened on Sept 4, railways high-ups told Dawn on Thursday. The railway authorities have conceived three possible routes, and the feasibility study would suggest the best choice that could get maximum business.
The first proposed route is 550kms long, which will link Gwadar to Quetta-Zahidan section of the rail network after passing through Turbat, Hoshab, Panjgur and Yakmach. The second route, about 400kms long as from Hoshab, may be directed towards Awaran, Bela and Dadu instead of Panjgur. The railway officials are also considering that from Bela the track should head towards Uthal and down to Karachi to link Gwadar immediately to the main railway line. According to the railway authorities, track kilometres and cost of the project may increase if the Balochistan government presses the federal government to direct the railways to lay the track close to localities so that local people could also benefit from the facility. A decision to link Gwadar port to Quetta-Zahidan or Karachi-Lahore sections will be taken after evaluating business opportunities available for both the options, they added.
PSAA suggests new tariff for Gwadar port
http://www.brecorder.com/story.php?id=57613&currPageNo=2&query=&search=&term=&supDate=
Gawadar. A mega project. I heard Shaukat Aziz on TV saying that hotels and other lodges in Gawadar are full of investors flocking to the area. So it appears that Gawadar has become a big success even before its formal inaugration. I hope they plan this city well with wide roads and proper residential area, and enforce laws like CDA in Islamabad. In short, keep it nice and clean, unlike Karachi. Can’t wait for the day they unveil this great city of the future!
:jhanda:
Gawadar To Be Linked With CARs Through Road, Railway
QUETTA, Pakistan: Nov 19 (PNS) - German Ambassador Kristopher called on Balochistan Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani here Tuesday and exchanged views with him on various matters of mutual interest.
Talking on the occasion, the Governor said that there is vast potential of investment in the province in various sectors including minerals, fisheries, agriculture and industries.
While apprising the envoy of development activities in the province, Owais said the work on construction of coastal highway and Gawadar deep water port is going on with great dispatch and these schemes would be completed within scheduled time.
He said a network of roads besides a railway track would be laid down to link Gawadar with Central Asian States and other parts of the country.
http://www.paknews.com/flash.php?id=15&date1=2003-11-19
:k:
The infrastructure links between Gwadar and the CARs is great news. So long as no future conflict in Afghanistan occurs that could endanger the flow of goods, Gwadar will inshallah become positioned to be the definative warm-water port of choice for export of products and raw material from the CARs. Gwadar could, potentially, explode into a thriving metropolis and economic powerhouse for Pakistan in the decades to come - a Rotterdam for Pakistan and the surrounding region, even.
Daily Dawn Reports: 12/04/2003
Gwadar housing plans dropped !!
KARACHI, Dec 3: In a surprise move, the Balochistan government has scrapped all its housing projects, including the prestigious Sangar Housing Project, in Gwadar district by cancelling the allotment of all the plots granted to general public, defence personnel and other federal agencies.
No reason was given in the official notification. The notification dated Nov 19 received here and issued by the provincial local government says: “The Government of Balochistan is pleased to cancel all the allotment of plots, including Defence and Federal agencies with immediate effect.”
It further says that the district coordination officer, Gwadar, and project director, Sangar Housing Scheme, Gwadar, “shall resume possession of all such plots by vacating the same, in case physical possession thereof to the ex-allottees”.
According to observers, the abrupt decision will beyond any doubt affect the investment climate in the Gwadar district where the federal government is seriously engaged in the construction of a deep-sea port and a coastal highway.
Most of the observers relate the decision to the unwise decision of the former Nawaz government when it seized foreign exchange accounts without considering the adverse economic implications of the decision.
They termed the decision a big blunder as it will restrict the plans for developing Gwadar into a modern port city and prove a stinging blow to the development activity in the province.
Many believe that anti-Gwadar forces have now finally succeeded to penetrate into major decision-making setup at the top level, to the detriment of Gwadar’s future.
The decision has already created a great resentment among the locals who are the major stakeholders as majority of plots were allotted to them and those who have sold their plots to investors from other cities of Pakistan and now have nothing to return.
Some of the observers are of the view that the government will have to compensate the plot-holders at last market value which will run well beyond Rs20 billion.
The Sangar Housing Project was developed at Koh-i-Batil to provide an opportunity to the locals of Gwadar and other parts of Balochistan by providing them residential and commercial plots at reasonable prices for ultimately obtaining benefits from the anticipated economic growth of Gwadar city.
Initially, there were more than 3,500 individuals having stake in Sangar Housing Project but many of them have already sold their plots at various prices to the people from all over the country, thus, increasing manifold the strength of the stakeholders.
Most of the plots, after initial allotment, have been sold at a very high price, i.e., Rs3 million for a 1,000 sq yards residential plot and Rs5 million for a 1,000 sq yards commercial plots.
The plots after sale and resale are now owned not merely by the locals of the Gwadar and people of other parts of Balochistan, but also by those from all over Pakistan and abroad.
The stockholders include private individuals, businessmen, investors, government officials, armed forces personnel and politicians.
Daily Jang Reports: 12/05/2003
QUETTA: The officials of the provincial government have dismissed the reports that all housing schemes in Gwadar had been scrapped.
Talking to The News on Thursday, Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) Director General Mir Ahmed Bukhash Lehri said that only the residential plots in the Singhar Housing Schemes had been cancelled through a notification of the provincial government.
Meanwhile, thousands of plot owners in the Singhar Housing Scheme in Gwadar and Koh-e-Batil had to face huge financial loss following the cancellation of their allotments. More than 3500 plots had been cancelled, which caused billion of rupees loss, said district Nazim Gwadar Babu Gulab, talking to this scribe. However, the provincial minister of local government, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed Shehrodi, said that the allotments of residential plots in the Singhar Housing Scheme and Koh-e-Batil were cancelled in view of the commercial importance of the area.
He said that it was the suggestion of the federal government that all allotments for residential purpose in Singhar and Koh-e-Batil should be cancelled. He said that the provincial government implemented this decision by issuing the notification in this regard. The affectees of the housing scheme would be fully refunded their amounts, he added.
In the past, the plots had been distributed on political basis and it was a general complaint of the local people that they had been kept deprived of purchasing the land in the Singhar Housing Scheme, while the influential people from other provinces were allotted the plots there, he said. The minister hoped that this step of the government would not dent the confidence of the investors in Gwadar. Only one scheme, i.e. Singhar, had been cancelled instead of all, he added.
[QUOTE]
Originally posted by mAd_ScIeNtIsT: *
**Gwadar could, potentially, explode into a thriving metropolis and economic powerhouse for Pakistan in the decades to come - a Rotterdam for Pakistan and the surrounding region, even.*
[/QUOTE]
Or as the next Dubai, and that is why there has been a lot of Gulf interest and investment in the Gwadur region. Inshallah when Gwadur port opens up in some six months time we will see this region take off, and Pakistan benefir greatly.
Daily Dawn Reports 01/02/2004
Gwadar being made commercial port: FO
ISLAMABAD, Jan 31: The foreign office on Saturday said that Gwadar port was being developed as a commercial port which would enhance Pakistan's economic and trade relations with countries of Central Asia, Middle East and Europe.
Rejecting an AP report, datelined Bombay, which had alleged that Gwadar port was being developed as a naval base for China, the foreign office spokesman said the report was way off the mark and tendentious.
"Gwadar is being developed as a commercial port, which would enhance Pakistan's economic and trade relations with countries of Central Asia, Middle East and Europe. It would provide a two-way access for commercial traffic to Central Asia and contribute in a big way to transform Pakistan into a commercial hub for the region," he said.
The spokesman said Pakistan appreciated the assistance being extended by China in the development of Gwadar port. It was a manifestation of fruitful economic cooperation between the two countries, he added.-APP
Just one more year, and one of the greatest achievments in the history of Pakistan will be completd.
Gwadar port to start by March 2005
Gwadar Port - one of the biggest mega projects of the country - will commence operations by March 2005, following the completion of three jetties at the harbour. Chairman, Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), Rear Admiral (Retd) Sarfaraz Khan told The News on Wednesday that the first phase of the construction of the Gwadar Port - with a funding of $298 million - would be completed by March next year. During the phase to follow, nine additional berths would be constructed at the harbour, thereby enhancing the number of jetties there to twelve, Admiral (Retd) Khan added. The Chairman, GPA mentioned that the new harbour would be the deepest channel of Pakistan with 12.5 metres of outer and 11.8 metres of inner channel draft. Its channel length would be 4.5 kilometres, he said. He disclosed that the government was still undecided about when to start the second phase of the project that would also include night navigation at the port. Admiral (Retd) Khan mentioned that four-year back, the project cost of the second phase - to be built on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) and Build Operate and Own (BOO) basis - was estimated at $600 million.
He said that the Coastal Highway - meant to link Gwadar with Karachi - would be completed by the end of this year. Pakistan Railways, he added, has also prepared a feasibility report for laying of railway tracks from Gwadar to Kandhar (Afghanistan) via Quetta. To a question regarding the captive cargo of the port, Admiral (Retd) Khan said that since the government has not initiated a marketing campaign in this regard, therefore the captive cargo and its related revenue could not be ascertained. “Up until the infrastructure is completed, you can not predict the interest of investors in this project. However, with the development of infrastructure at the Gwadar harbour, the curiosity of investors would certainly gain momentum,” he observed. The Chairman, GPA said that this project - not aimed at competing with other national ports - would be contesting with some regional ports and there is every possibility that it might even surpass them in terms of cargo handling and revenue generation. Admiral (Retd) Khan spoke high of the Chinese professionals involved in the project saying: “One can imagine their dedication in this project by the fact that every Chinese involved in it utilised only two leaves during the past two years.”
He claimed that the project would create new job opportunities - around 3,000 in the port alone - after its completion. When asked why people would prefer Gwadar port, the Chairman, GPA said: “The location of Gwadar port is one of its prominent features since ships meant to anchor here would save more than two days of what which they usually spend on their other routes.” “Gwadar port is still a very good decision, however, had this decision been taken 25 years ago, the results could have been far more promising,” he responded to a query. Admiral (Retd) Khan mentioned that since the start of the Gwadar port project, the population of Gwadar has doubled. A two-room house, without sufficient facilities, in Gwadar is being rented out at around Rs15,000, he disclosed.
In fact the first phase may be complete, well ahead of schedule.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_7-3-2004_pg7_49
1st phase of Gwadar to be completed by September
Communication Secretary Iftikhar Rashid on Saturday said the amount of Gwadar Deep Sea Port’s royalty to Balochistan will be decided by the National Finance Commission but only after the port becomes operational.
Addressing a press conference, he said the port’s first phase costing $248 million would be completed by the end of September or early October 2004, ahead of the scheduled completion date of March 2005. Three berths were being constructed in this phase, he said, adding that almost 80 percent of the construction work under the first phase had been completed. He said the second phase would be completed at a cost of $1 billion. He said the Pakistan government was giving $50 million out of the $248 million needed for the first phase. “China is providing the rest,” he added. Working conditions at Gwadar were difficult and raw materials were not easily available, he said, adding that about 40,000 acres was required for the Gwadar master plan. Seventy percent of the dredging had been completed while 80 percent of the work on the first berth was completed, 40 percent on the second berth and 10 percent on the third berth was completed, he added.
MashaAllah! Great news!