The Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) is set to commence the establishment of the water supply network for the Gwadar Free Zone North on August 30th. According to the plan, GPA is preparing to initiate an open bidding process. An official from GPA informed Gwadar Pro that it is expected that the work orders for this project will be released in the first week of September. GPA intends to simultaneously install two water supply pipeline networks from two different water sources to the Gwadar North Free Zone. One of these water sources is the Sawar Dam and the Shadi Kor Dam. The second source will be the newly constructed Chinese-funded desalination plant with a daily production capacity of 1.2 million gallons. Both of these projects will span a length of 6 kilometers each. Project Director Abdul Wahid Baloch has expressed optimism that the water supply plan will be completed by November of this year.

The operator of the Gwadar Free Zone, the Gwadar Free Zone Company, will be responsible for extending the water supply pipeline network from the entry point of the zone to the factories currently under construction within the zone. In addition to the water supply project, GPA has also allocated funds for the provision of electricity from the Deep-sea Port Grid Station to the North Free Zone. The Ministry of Maritime Affairs has redirected the funds to the Ministry of Energy for the establishment of the distribution network. Both of these projects are progressing rapidly under the supervision of the GPA Chairman. Previously, the lack of basic public infrastructure has been a major obstacle to the industrialization of the Gwadar Free Zone, according to Gwadar Pro.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak-China