Maroc - EURASIAREVIEW.COM - A la une - 29/Oct 15:43

Gwadar: The Rising Heart Of CPEC – OpEd

Gwadar is the most favourable and even the most misinterpreted element of the economic outlook of Pakistan when discussing the future of the nation. Gwadar is not a mere port because it is located on the southwest of Balochistan facing the Arabian Sea. It is the gateway of the greater Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in China, a policy of experiment of establishing a regional integration and a potential breakthrough of trade and development aspirations in Pakistan. Gwadar is not just a story of cranes and containers, but it is a story of confrontation of geography, politics and economics to reinvent an entire region. Gwadar Port, in bare form, will enable China to have an immediate contact with the Arabian Sea without using the long and unsafe route characterized by the Strait of Malacca. In the situation with Pakistan, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to establish itself as a force in the international trading routes. The Gwadar section of the multibillion-dollar initiative, under which China is developing its western region of Xinjiang and linking with the Arabian Sea is known as China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is the exchange of the strategic depth of China as it gains its energy security and a chance to invest in the country, as well as the infrastructure and providing Pakistan with an opportunity to revive its industry. The port makes it especially handy in its natural geography. Gwadar is also able to hold deep cargo water and hence it can hold large cargo ships that can hardly be accommodated in Karachi or Port Qasim. It is already turning into a complete-fledged maritime hub capable of transshipment traffic between China, the Middle East, and Africa as it is being dredged and expanded. The proposed China-Gwadar-Africa is a change that is characterized by the idea that commerce between the Asian continent and the African continent will be made simpler. It is expected that the project would generate a significant number of jobs in the district, possibly 25,000, and secure up to 30 per cent of the GDP of the district which would be revolutionary given the fact that they have traditionally been marginalized in terms of accessing the mainstream Pakistan economy. The ripple effect on the shipping is not the only one. This infrastructural push that is being marketed by the CPEC includes new highways, rail and energy projects that would connect Gwadar to the rest of the national grid and even further. The planning and construction of railways to Gwadar to Quetta and beyond to China are in progress and new power plants such as the solar and coal-based ones are being planned to manage one of the most nagging problems to the port the energy shortages. With a combination of these investments, Gwadar will become the cornerstone of a so-called new Silk Route that policymakers hope would transform Gwadar into a critical supply chain point in the entire world. Other important issues include building the Gwadar Free Zone which is being extended to attract manufacturing, logistics and service industries. Plans of industrial and commercial hubs that could include food processing and textile industries will be outlined in contracts signed by the Gwadar Port Authority with other Chinese companies in 2025. It is not only intended to help transit the goods along the Gwadar, but it is intended to help add value at local level. That is how ports can become a system of the economy, and not a transfer point. The outcome of such scheme is already causing a silent real estate and business bubble. The Gwadar free zone has also made the real estate near Gwadar to become one of the most sought-after lands in Pakistan. The housing, office and logistics facilities will have high demand, and this is what the investors are betting on given that the port will mature. The speculation and Gwadar are still faced with the risks, and still plagued with major infrastructure deficit, especially with water and local services but nobody can deny the fact that the port has at least provided the nation with a sense of hope in an area which has been long ignored. The most amazing fact about the Gwadar story is that it is the amalgamation of the finest geopolitics and the local life. Other projects that include solar powered fishing boats that are supported by the sustainability projects of CPEC are aimed at modernizing the traditional industries but placing minimal pressure to the environment. They are still a major part of Gwadar local economy as fishing, and these innovations can help communities to benefit because of the port expansion but not be driven out by it. The issue is that these projects are to be inclusive in order that the local people could experience the positive impact but not feel subdued by enormous investments by foreigners. However, the hype on Gwadar must be brought down to reality. The security question has been quite protracted and painful experience in Balochistan since the secession tension and infrastructural assault have come to disrupt the development process in the past. The stability is also highly necessary not only to the investors, but also to the people whose lives depend on the success of such projects. Moreover, Pakistan cannot afford to fall into the trap of infrastructural development whereby a glossy wave of new projects does not become an operation that is sustainable in the economy. One thing is the building of a port; the other is the building of the state, education and entrepreneurship, which should render it successful. It is an opportunity; a tightrope walks by Pakistan to exploit the contribution that China has made in the transformation of Gwadar. On the one hand, the Chinese investment has made capital that no other partner was willing to provide. On the one hand, it makes Pakistan economically more dependent on Beijing that can be turned into a politically sensitive issue in case it is handled without due diligence. Pakistan will need to diversify its allies and open the country to the gulf states, European Union and the regional players like Turkey and turn Gwadar into an open and competitive trade hub and not a closed enclave, to realize its potential.