Pakistan on Monday formally awarded the contract for the operations of Gwadar Port and the building of infrastructure around it to China.
The signing ceremony, held at the Presidency, was witnessed by President Asif Ali Zardari, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Liu Jian, and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar among others.
Spokesman to the president Senator Farhatullah Babar said the ceremony actually marked the transfer of Concession Agreement from the Port of Singapore Authority to the China Overseas Port Holding Company and was hailed by the president as an “auspicious development” in Sino-Pak relations as well as for the people of Pakistan, particularly Balochistan, opening for them “new opportunities”.
Gwadar would soon be a “hub of trade and commerce in the region”, the president remarked, adding that “it holds the key to bring together the countries of Central Asia” and lending “new impetus to Pakistan China relations.
The president highlighted the strategic significance of the port for China and central Asian republics and its potential of integrating the economies of the countries in the region.
“The Chinese provinces of Xinjiang and Tibet are closer to Pakistani ports than to the ports in China. The development of a trade corridor linking Xinjiang to the Middle East via Gwadar Port held ‘huge promise’,” President Zardari added.
Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri could not attend the ceremony as the MQM has decided to quit the government and sit on the opposition benches.
The president, however, praised Ghauri’s efforts in facilitating the transfer of port operations to China.
About the project’s strategic importance to China, the president said nearly 60 percent of China’s crude oil was imported from Gulf countries and the volume would increase in the next decade.
“Because of the proximity of the Gulf countries to Gwadar, the oil flow from the Gulf to China would be greatly facilitated by the operation of this port,” he said.