Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) has started developing the first Free Zone of Pakistan which spreads over 9.5 sq. km area to operationalize a facility which has become a gateway for the country as well as for the region. This facility is being developed in collaboration with China Overseas Ports Holding Company Limited (COPHCL). According to the Economic Survey 2020-21, announced in a press conference by the Minister for Finance and Revenue here on Thursday, the construction of Free Zone Phase-I has been completed with all infrastructures, including power, water, road, telecommunication, waste treatment and drainage systems in operation now. More than 30 enterprises, in the areas of financial services, hotels, warehouses, fishery products processing, edible oil processing, pipe industry, furniture manufacturing, electric vehicles assembly, trade and logistics, have already been registered in the Free Zone. Gwadar Port is the first Deep Sea Port of the country, complementing and supplementing the other two vibrant ports i.e Karachi Port and Port Qasim. Its development is critical to stimulate the economic growth of Balochistan in particular and Pakistan in general as it will provide an outlet for land-locked Central Asian Republics (CARs), Western China and Afghanistan.
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