Daily Times

Chairman of China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC), Zhang Baozhong has said that Gwadar, an important component of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would become the logistics hub in the region within five years.

“According to our plan, Gwadar would become the logistic hub in this region within five years,” Zhang Baozhong told China Economic Net (CEN) while reviewing the 5-year-journey of Gwadar.

As per its blueprint, the Free Zone will be fully developed; more than 30,000 people will be directly employed by the free zone investors, at least $10 billion GDP will be contributed to the economy of Pakistan. And following this economic development, the life of local people will be dramatically improved or changed; more schools, hotels, and medical facilities will be constructed; water and electrical issues will be completely tackled.

Zhang invited different companies to invest in the rosy future of Gwadar. “Gwadar will become one of the attractive cities in the world-a dreamland for human beings,”

He mentioned that logistics is one of the best businesses in Gwadar as Gwadar is the gateway to Middle Asian countries. But the port itself will not generate any revenue. A proper volume of business is needed to develop the port, and a good logistic system is needed to handle the cargo. Free zone development and port development are twin brothers, said Zhang.

An oil refinery is also welcomed as many plants depend on the availability of gas, LPG, or LNG. Gwadar is close to oil-rich countries like Oman and Saudi Arabia, and the raw materials can easily reach the port. This business will not only help Gwadar port itself but also help Pakistan achieve a stable supply of important industrial materials.

“The third one is agriculture,” Zhang said. The land in Pakistan is rich and fertile but unfortunately, it was not utilized properly. “We hope some investor can join the local community to develop the land properly and increase the yield of production.”

Last but not least, food processing, especially Halal food processing is highly recommended. “If we have food of the international standard, our product will have access to the international market.”

“I believe that Gwadar will be a new economic hub of this region, and it will play important roles in the development of south Pakistan, Afghanistan, and even Middle Asian countries,” remarked Zhang.

Sharing his memories, he said, stepping on Gwadar for the first time, “I thought I was on Mars. It was 2016, not many activities, not many people, not much traffic could be seen in the dusty Gwadar. The whole city was without any environment for doing business.’

“I was under such pressure that I thought it was the mission impossible [to develop Gwadar],” Zhang said. By that time there were no signals or internet. For two weeks he completely lost connection with his family and head office.

Life was tough, so was the task. How was it possible to realize the target of the government? “I wrote a lot of reports to the Chinese government, to my head office and I discussed with my local Pakistani brothers. And we were very lucky that both governments helped a lot.”

“From the very top level to the ground level, all the people from Pakistan were very helpful and kind to us. And they were ready to assist us to overcome all the difficulties we faced. We are grateful to the Pakistani government for giving us 923 hectares of land (10 square kilometers) dedicated to the development of Free Zone as well as the incentives to investors,” he said.