GWADAR: Zhang Baozhong – Chairman of the China Overseas Ports Holding Company, announced during a joint working Gawadar group that the development work on Eastbay Expressway will be completed in 2021.
Once the project is completed, it will connect the port to the second phase of the FTZ (Free Trade Zone).
The project was intended to help businesses/companies by promoting transshipment trade and reducing logistics costs.
Satisfaction over the project’s operationalizing progress is expressed in the meeting co-chaired by the Ying Xiong – Director-General of (NDRC) National Reform and Development Commission and Mathar Niaz Rana – Secretary of the Ministry of Planning, Development, & Special Initiatives. They further discussed the investment opportunities and port development, which include the Gwadar related projects like the M-8 motorway to provide road connectivity and the New Gwadar International Airport to provide seamless air connectivity.
The China-Pakistan Friendship Hospital and Vocational Institute in Gwadar are committed to providing medical facilities for living in and around Gwadar. Moreover, a desalination plant with a capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day will be implemented, which will provide the region with fresh water.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, representatives from the Balochistan government, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Board of Investment (BoI), and other interested officials.
