Water supply to Gwadar has been increased from various dams in the vicinity, and the pipeline network has been upgraded to meet the needs of the growing city, said an official.

Director General of Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Qambrani said at a roundtable organised by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) that a desalination plant for making use of the seawater in time of low availability in the dams is scheduled to be completed by March 2023.

To meet the growing energy needs of the city, the government has signed a new agreement with the Iranian government for power supply to Gwadar. Qambrani said a coal-based power plant with a capacity of producing 300MW electricity is also in the pipeline along with the establishment of solar parks to generate energy from renewable sources.

The official added that the New Gwadar International Airport is scheduled to be operational by September 2023, but the first test flight from the airport is scheduled for March 2023. He said the New Gwadar International Airport is one of the largest airports of the region that could handle the largest aircraft like the Airbus A-380.

He also briefed the audience about all the planned health, educational, sports, cultural, and tourist facilities that have been recently established or are in the pipeline for Gwadar. He added that the government has recently approved a tourism policy for Gwadar.

The GDA DG was of the view that Gwadar has the potential to become one of the most attractive tourist destinations of the world. He said that road access from Karachi and Quetta to Gwadar has been considerably improved, and added that the latter route is instrumental in connectivity through the western corridor of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passing through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Qambrani also shed light on the master plan of the city and the role of the GDA in the city’s development as per the master plan. He said that the master plan of Gwadar was inspired from the master plan of the Chinese port city of Shenzhen. Instead of opting for relocating the local population of the city, the GDA has launched a Rs3.3 billion project for the rehabilitation of the old town.

Qambrani urged the think-tanks to play their role in creating awareness about the economic importance of Gwadar.

Pakistan’s former ambassador to China Naghmana Hashmi, Chief Executive Officer of the KP Board of Investment and Trade Hassaan Daoud Butt, and President of the Institute of Regional Studies Nadeem Riyaz also spoke on the occasion.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk