Gwadar

Gwadar (Urdu: گوادر, Urdu pronunciation: [gəʋɑːd̪əɾ]) is a port city on the southwestern coast of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea, opposite Oman and has a population of over 90,000, according to the 2017 census. It was an overseas possession of Oman from 1783 to 1958. It is about 120 km (75 mi) southwest of Turbat. The sister port city of Chabahar in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan provinces is about 170 km (110 mi) to the west of Gwadar. On 2 April 2021, it was declared the capital of the south Balochistan region.

The main industrial concern is a fish-processing factory. Gwadar became part of the sultanate of Muscat and Oman in 1797, and it was not until 1958 that the town and adjoining hinterland were exchanged from Oman to Pakistan.

Gwadar came in the focus of attention after the Kargil War when Pakistan felt the need of having a military naval port and the Karachi-Gwadar Road (Coastal Highway) was built for defence purposes. For most of its history, Gwadar was a small to medium-sized settlement with an economy largely based on artisanal fishing. The strategic value of its location was first recognized in 1954 when it was identified as a suitable site for a deep water port by the United States Geological Survey at the request of Pakistan while the territory was still under Omani rule. Until 2001, the area's potential to be a major deep water port remained untapped under successive Pakistani governments, when construction on the first phase of Gwadar Port was initiated in 2007. The first phase costed $248 million. The port initially remained underutilized after construction for a variety of reasons, including lack of investment, security concerns, and the Government of Pakistan's failure to transfer land as promised to the port operator, Port of Singapore Authority.

In April 2015, Pakistan and China announced their intention to develop the $46 billion China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which in turn forms part of China's ambitious One Belt, One Road. Gwadar features heavily in CPEC, and is also envisaged to be the link between the One Belt, One Road and Maritime Silk Road project. $1.153 billion worth of infrastructure projects will be invested into the city as part of CPEC, with the aim of linking northern Pakistan and western China to the deep water seaport. The city will also be the site of a floating liquefied natural gas facility that will be built as part of the larger $2.5 billion Gwadar–Nawabshah segment of the Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline project. Despite concerns over the United States sanctions on Iran, Pakistan is going ahead constructing a pipeline from the Iranian border to Gwadar as of 2024. This is partly to avoid contractual penalties and partly to avoid over reliance on the Gwadar Coal–Power Plant which requires imported coal. In addition to investments directly under the aegis of CPEC in the Gwadar city, the China Overseas Port Holding Company in June, 2016, began construction on the $2 billion Gwadar Special Economic Zone, which is being modelled on the lines of the special economic zones of China. In September, 2016, the Gwadar Development Authority published a request for tenders for the preparation of expropriation and resettlement of Old Town Gwadar.