GWADAR: A multi-million dollar port being developed by China in Pakistan is set to be at “full operation” by the end of this year, a Chinese official said on Tuesday. Chinese public company Chairman Zhang Baozhong said that the Gwadar Port, which is on Pakistan’s southwest coast would see roughly one million tonnes of cargo going through it by 2017. He told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar about the port’s development on Tuesday that currently trade there is “basically nothing”. He said, “We hope a big jump will take place. Our dream is to make Gwadar a regional trading centre”. Gwadar, which is in Balochistan province forms what officials call the “heart” of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a grand $46 billion project giving Beijing greater access to the Middle East, Africa and Europe through Pakistan. The port was built in 2007 with technical help from Beijing as well as Chinese financial assistance of about $248 million.