CPEC, Gwadar airport and Regional connectivity
Pakistan is going to kill several birds with one stone and the stone is Gwadar International Airport. South Asia’s largest airport is expected to start its operations by March this year. Domestic and International flights will be operated from this airport. It will be among one of the world’s latest airports which will become an economic hub for China, Central Asia and South Asia. This airport doesn’t come alone with economic prosperity but also with cultural cooperation, strategic importance and peace in the region because three regions are connected with it.
This airport is spread over a wide range of area covering around forty-three hundred acres of land so it can accommodate big aircraft like ATR 72, AirBus A300, C-130, Boeing 747 and Boeing 737. The country’s second Greenfield airport can handle thirty-thousand-tonnes of cargo a year even in the high-sea season. This airport can be a significant factor for the growth of Pakistan’s economy. According to the reports, Pakistan is forecasting an increase in its domestic trading activities by 55 percent while 200 percent in foreign investment after the functionality of this airport.
The importance of Gwadar Airport cannot be played down at any cost as it connects three important regions that are Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia. Moreover, it has access to Africa and Europe as well and that is why Chinese airlines have decided to operate international flights from this airport. Once International flight operation starts, this airport will assume the position among most important airports.
Asia is a very large continent and with this airport, a new gateway will be opened for the commercial activities in the region. It will not only boost trading activities between Pakistan and China but also in Central Asian and South Asian countries and that is why it is also called Golden Gateway. Asia has so many landlocked countries and it is a big hindrance in the way of trading with those countries via sea. Now with this airport, transportation of goods will be easy in those countries within a very short time.
This airport will not only change the destiny of Gwadar but also Baluchistan and will certainly play a key role for the economic growth of Pakistan. Pakistan is geographically a very important country. Iran, Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, China and Central Asian countries have to cross through Pakistan’s airspace and that is why it is called a junction on the eastern and western air route. As I started this article with a statement that Pakistan is about to kill several birds with one stone so on one hand, this airport will bring boom in trading activities and international dependency on Pakistan while on the other, it will provide strategic priority to Pakistan against India because comparatively Gwadar is far away from the reach of India than Karachi and Qasim Ports. India has already realized the importance of this airport that is why it keeps propagating against this project in their media.
China and Pakistan are iron-brothers and both countries have proved several times that their friendship is unprecedented. China has become a great partner with Pakistan in the economic sector and now this airport will strengthen this partnership enormously. China has been managing the investment for the development of Gwadar International Airport because it bears the same importance for China as well that is why this project was chosen under the umbrella of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Southern part of China is far away from its eastern ports as they have to travel for thousands of kilometres and now this project is bringing so much ease to it. Through Gwadar, China will not only sort out its domestic transportation issues but also reach Afghanistan and Central Asian countries.
This airport will bring immense change in the process of trade and commerce throughout the region due to its high potential for commercial development. Gwadar logistic base will cater for the trade above the western and north-south transportation corridor. Built with an investment of 230 million dollars, Gwadar International Airport will stimulate the geopolitical status of the region and will turn it into an economic hub.
The politics of international trade is moulding itself in a very complex state due to rapidly changing commercial activities and economic challenges. In this scenario, Gwadar International Airport has successfully attained geo-strategic importance in the region. Now all we need to do is to ensure the security of this area for the optimum utilization of this project. Law enforcement agencies can make foolproof security arrangements in the area to make it comfortable for the business community and foreigners. There is no doubt that peace has prevailed in the province comparatively but still China and Pakistan need to join hands together for the retention of this project as foreign powers have been hyper busy in subduing it.
