Gwadar Port ( ) is a deep-sea port situated on the Arabian Sea at Gwadar in Pakistan's Balochistan province. The port is under the administrative control of the Maritime Secretary of Pakistan and the operational control of the China Overseas Port Holding Company. The port features prominently in the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and is considered to be a link between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Maritime Silk Road projects. It is about southwest of Turbat, and to the east of Chabahar Port (Sistan and Balochistan Province in Iran).
The potential of Gwadar to serve as a deep-water port was first identified in 1954, when the city was still under Omani rule. Plans for construction of the port were not realised until 2007, when the port was inaugurated by Pervez Musharraf after four years of construction, at a cost of $248 million.
In 2015, it was announced that the city and port would be further developed under CPEC at a cost of $1.62 billion, with the aim of linking northern Pakistan and western China to the deep water seaport. The port will also be the site of a floating liquefied natural gas facility that will be built as part of the larger $2.5 billion Gwadar-Nawabshah segment of the Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline project. Construction began in June 2016 on the Gwadar Special Economic Zone, which is being built on 2,292-acre site adjacent to Gwadar's port. In late 2015, around 2000 acres of land were leased to a Chinese company for 43 years for the development of Gwadar Special Economy Zone.
Gwadar Port became formally operational on 14 November 2016, when it was inaugurated by Pakistan's Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif; the first convoy was seen off by the then Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif. On 14 January 2020, Pakistan operationalized Gwadar Port for Afghan transit trade. On 31 May 2021, Gwadar Port became fully operational, along with the availability of online booking for the delivery of goods.
Location
Gwadar Port is situated on the shores of the Arabian Sea in the city of Gwadar, located in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The port is located 533 km from Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, and is approximately 120 km from the Iranian border. It is located away from Oman, and near key oil shipping lanes from the Persian Gulf. The greater surrounding region is home to around two-thirds of the world's proven oil reserves. It is also the nearest warm-water seaport to the landlocked, but hydrocarbon rich, Central Asian Republics, as well as Afghanistan.
The port is situated on a rocky outcropping in the Arabian sea that forms part of a natural hammerhead-shaped peninsula protruding out from the Pakistani coastline. The peninsula, known as the Gwadar Promontory, consists of rocky outcropping reaching an altitude of 560 feet with a width of 2.5 miles that are connected to the Pakistani shore by a narrow and sandy 12 kilometre long isthmus. The isthmus separates the shallow Padi Zirr bay to the west, from the deep water Demi Zirr harbour in the east.
Gwadar Port has significant advantages compared to other ports in the region due to its depth, natural breakwater, and desert climate with little seasonal variation.
History
In 1783, the Khan of Kalat, Mir Noori Naseer Khan Baloch, granted Gwadar to Taimur Sultan, the vanquished leader of Muscat, who was entrusted with its governance on behalf of the Khan. Despite Taimur Sultan's eventual recovery of power in Muscat, the Omani administration continued to hold sway over Gwadar through the appointment of local governors.
In 1797, Saiad Sultan assumed the leadership of Muscat, but he did not relinquish control of the Gwadar enclave to Kalat. This resulted in a dispute between the Sultan's descendants and the Khan of Kalat regarding the governance of Gwadar, which led to British involvement in the matter. Eventually, the British brought telegraph lines to the town. Having secured concessions from the Sultan for the utilization of the region, the British assisted Muscat in maintaining control over Gwadar.
In the 1950s, Oman offered to sell the port to India, which was declined by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, likely because India lacked the ability to effectively defend the enclave from Pakistan.
At the time of Pakistan's independence in 1947, Gwadar remained under Omani authority. Nevertheless, Pakistan started to indicate interest in Gwadar after it acquired control of various Baloch territories, including the Chief Commissioner's Province of British Baluchistan, as well as the states of Kharan, Makran, Lasbela and Kalat. Over the months following independence, Pakistan absorbed these regions into its territory. In 1954, Pakistan engaged the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a survey of its coastline. The USGS deputed the surveyor, Worth Condrick, for the survey, who identified Gwadar as a suitable site for a seaport. After four years of negotiations, Pakistan purchased the Gwadar enclave from Oman for on 8 September 1958 (equivalent to in ) and Gwadar officially became part of Pakistan on 8 December 1958, after 200 years of Omani rule. A 2026 BBC Dari report, later cited by Khaama Press, stated that journalist Haroon Rashid said Pakistan reportedly lacked the funds to complete the purchase of Gwadar from Oman, and that Aga Khan IV paid the agreed $3 million price on Pakistan’s behalf.
A small wharf at Gwadar was completed in 1992, and formal proposals for a deep sea port at Gwadar were unveiled a year later in 1993. The federal government approved the construction of the port in December 1995 but the project could not get started because of shortage of funds. In 1997, a government-appointed task force identified Gwadar as one of the focus area of development, but the project did not launch due to economic sanctions imposed against Pakistan following its nuclear tests in May 1998. Construction on Phase 1 of the project began in 2002 after the agreement for its construction was signed during the state visit of Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji in 2001. After completion of Phase 1 in 2007, the first commercial cargo vessel to dock at the port was the POS Glory, with 70,000 Metric Tonnes of Wheat on 15 March 2008.
The port is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast through the Strait of Malacca, to Mombasa, from there via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region with its rail connections to Central Europe and the North Sea.
In 2019, the Baloch Liberation Army, which opposes the Gwadar Port City, targeted Chinese nationals in an attack on the Pearl-Continental Hotel.
Construction Gwadar Port is being developed in two phases: Phase I covered building of three multipurpose berths and related port infrastructure and port handling equipment, and was completed in December 2006, but inaugurated on 20 March 2007.
Phase I (2001–2006) The first phase of construction at Gwadar Port began in 2002, and was completed in 2006, before inauguration in 2007. Berths: 3 Multipurpose Berths Length of Berths: 602 m in total Approach Channel: 4.5 km long dredged to 12.5 m depth and max draft (hull) of channel.(capacity: bulk carriers of 30,000 deadweight tonnage [DWT] and container vessels of 25,000 DWT) Turning basin: 450 m diameter Service Berth: One 100 m Service Berth Related port infrastructure and handling equipment, pilot boats, tugs, survey vessels, etc. Built at a cost of $248 million.
Phase II
The second phase of construction is currently underway as part of planned improvements under CPEC and other ancillary projects. The total project is expected to cost $1.02 billion. In Sep 2018, the Pakistan Senate expressed concern at slow rate of progress of most projects of Phase II at Gwadar as construction had not started for most projects.
Completed: 6-lane Gwadar Eastbay Expressway to connect the port to the Makran Coastal Highway New Gwadar International Airport, built in the vicinity of Gwadar 1 Ro-Ro Terminal
Ongoing: Approach Channel: To be dredged to 14.5 m depth and max draft (hull) of channel Desalination plant Gwadar Coal–Power Plant – 300 megawatt coal-fired power plant
Planned: 4 Container Berths along 3.2 kilometres of shoreline 1 Bulk Cargo Terminal (capacity: 100,000 DWT ships) 1 Grain Terminal 2 oil terminals (capacity: 200,000 DWT ships each) Floating liquefied natural gas terminal with capacity of 500 million cubic feet of gas per day 2,292-acre special economic zone to be developed adjacent to port
Longer term plans Dredging of approach channel to depth of 20 meters 100 berths to be built by 2045 Capacity to handle 400 million tons of cargo per year
Expansion under CPEC
Under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor plan, the state-owned China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) will expand Gwadar Port with construction of nine new multipurpose berths on 3.2 kilometres of seafront to the east of the existing multipurpose berths. COPHC will also build cargo terminals in the 12 kilometres of land to the north and northwest of the site along the shoreline of the Demi Zirr bay.
In total, COPHC has awarded $1.02 billion worth of contracts for expansion of the port. In addition to construction of nine berths and cargo terminals, plans for expanded port infrastructure also include several projects that will be financed by loans extended by Chinese state owned banks. The Gwadar Port dredging project will deepen approach channels to a depth of 14 meters from the current 11.5-meter depth, at a cost of $27 million. Dredging will enable docking of larger ships with a deadweight tonnage of up to 70,000 at Gwadar Port, while current capacity permits a maximum 20,000 DWT. Future plans call for dredging of the harbour to a depth of 20 meters to allow for docking of larger vessels. Also included as part of the CPEC infrastructure development package for port infrastructure is a $130 million breakwater around the port.
Ancillary infrastructure projects for the port will also be built as part of CPEC. A $114 million desalination plant will be developed to provide potable water to the city, while the Government of Pakistan will also contribute $35 million towards infrastructure projects in the Gwadar Special Economic Zone. A 19 kilometre-long dual carriageway known as the Gwadar East Bay Expressway will also be built at a cost of $140 million to connect Gwadar Port to the existing Makran Coastal Highway and the planned $230 million Gwadar International Airport.
A floating liquefied natural gas facility that will have a capacity of 500 million cubic feet of liquified natural gas per day will also be built at the port as part of the $2.5 billion Gwadar-Nawabshah segment of the Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline, which is being built as a joint venture between Pakistan's Inter State Gas System, and the China National Petroleum Corporation. The Pakistani government also intends to establish a training institute named Pak-China Technical and Vocational Institute at Gwadar which is to be completed at the cost of 943 million rupees to impart skills to local residents to train them to operate machinery at the port.
It was expected that by 2017, the port will handle over one million tons of cargo, most of which will consist of construction materials for other CPEC projects. However, the project has faced multiple challenges. The Pakistan government has curbed expansion of mega project due to mounting debt on country's exchequer. The COVID-19 pandemic has further impacted the work on the project. COPHC plans to eventually expand the port's capacity to 400 million tons of cargo per year. Long terms plans for Gwadar Port call for a total of 100 berths to be built by 2045.