AMER SIAL

Pakistan and China have successfully established sea and road links with the deep seaport Gwadar during the last month and it is expected that the trading activity on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Gwadar Port will flourish in the coming weeks.

An official source said that in less than three years both the countries have established the much-needed road link to fully operationalize the port and the first export consignment would be shipped over a Chinese vessel to Africa on November 13.

A major event happened when a Chinese ship, Tianfu docked at Gwadar on September 25. It was the beginning of the operations at the Gwadar Port. Later, more than 100 Chinese trucks successful completed its road journey, from custom clearance at Sust check post and finally reached the Gwadar Port after three days’ journey.

In the coming months, the trading activity would flourish on the Gwadar Port and Chinese goods convoys would be regularly moving through Pakistan to the port. The security would remain tight. And a flurry of construction activity would commence in and around Gwadar, the source added.

Pakistan has established a special security force for the protection of CPEC of 16,000 men, 9,000 from special services and 6,000 personnel from regular armed forces. He said that the CPEC was openly opposed by arch rival India while some of Pakistan’s friends were also covertly opposing the project as it provided an alternate to China to access the markets in Middle East, Africa and Europe.

The source said the opening of CPEC and operationalizing Gwadar would attract foreign direct investment in the country. The FDI has touched rock bottom during the last few years due to militancy and terrorism but a very successful military operation has nearly ended the militancy and terrorism perpetrators.

The improvement in law and order, infrastructure and reducing the energy crisis would help increase the GDP at least by 2 per cent per annum. And FDI because of CPEC would at least push up GDP by another two per cent points. Hopefully, the GDP would rise to 8 per cent in the next few years, the source added.