Gwadar port takes first step towards success.

Byline: Syed Fazl-E-Haider

The Gwadar port in Balochistan ultimately went operational for export this month. This was the great news for the country's economic jubilation in the year-end bearing future prospect. With a functional Gwadar port, the burden on the Karachi port will reduce. Gwadar port is the essential part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and is considered to be an important link to China's trillion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The departure of a vessel, carrying three fish containers worth $50,000 each, for a Far-Eastern country started the seafood exports through Gwadar port, according to the Adviser to Prime Minister on Trade and Industries Abdul Razak Dawood. The departure marks the operationalization of the country's third deep-sea port for export after Karachi and Bin Qasim. The container line service of China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) Shipping Line is an integral part of the CPEC project which connects Afghanistan, the Central Asian states and western China. In September, the first container line service between Karachi, Gwadar and the Gulf was successfully initiated. The seafood export started last month through COSCO's KGS (Karachi-Gwadar-Gulf Service) service. The KGS has operationally connected Gwadar port with the world's seaports.

This month, the government formed a committee to draft transit and trans-shipment rules as part of the port's development. It is worth mentioning that Gwadar port has already been included in the transit rules framed under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement 2010. Gwadar port is poised to target the large untapped market of coastal trade between national seaports, Afghan Transit Trade (ATT), regional trans-shipments and exports and imports. Balochistan could become the primary beneficiary by exporting multiple commodities especially seafood, fruits, vegetables, marble, minerals, and many other locally available commodities to the world's markets through Gwadar port.

Gwadar is currently the country's deepest port with its existing three 14-meter deep berths to handle ships. Five new berths will be added to the existing three berths for handling bigger ships under the port expansion plan. Under the second phase of port development, the depth of the port would be increased to 16 meters to facilitate bigger ships. There are also plans to increase the depth to 20 meters in future that will make it the port deepest in the region. The facilities planned...