Pakistan handed hundreds of hectares of land over to China Wednesday for development of a special economic zone in the port of Gwadar, part of a $46 billion project giving Beijing greater access to the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

The government of Baluchistan province -- Pakistan's poorest -- handed over about 280 hectares of a 923-hectare (2,300-acre) swathe of tax-exempt land that Beijing will develop under a 43-year lease.

The rest of the land will be handed over under the agreement with the public China Overseas Port Holding Company "soon", senior Pakistani government officials told AFP.

The development is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, an ambitious $46 billion investment plan linking western China to the Arabian Sea, part of Beijing's ambition to expand its trade and transport footprint across Central and South Asia while countering US and Indian influence.

Experts say access to the port of Gwadar will cut thousands of kilometers off the distance which oil and gas imports from Africa and the Middle East have to travel to reach China.

Pakistan's planning minister Ahsan Iqbal and shipping minister Kamran Michael attended the handover ceremony Wednesday with Chinese development commission vice chairman Wang Xiaotao.

As part of the wider plans, an international airport will also be built with a Chinese grant at Gwadar, with construction due to begin in January.

Gwadar port, located 540 kilometers (335 miles) southwest of Karachi, was built in 2007 with technical help from Beijing as well as Chinese financial assistance of some $248 million.