GAWADAR
HISTORY
The Makran region surrounding Gwadar was occupied by an ancient Bronze age people which settled in the few oases. It later became the Gedrosia region of the Achaemenid Persian empire. It is believed to have been conquered by the founder of the Persian empire, Cyrus the Great. The capital of the satrapy of Gedrosia was Pura, which is thought to have been located near the modern Bampûr, in Iranian Balochistan. During the homeward march of Alexander the Great, his admiral, Nearchus, led a fleet along the modern-day Makran coast and recorded that the area was dry, mountainous, and inhabited by the "Ichthyophagoi" (or "fish eaters"), an Greek rendering of the ancient Persian phrase "Mahi khoran" (which has itself become the modern word "Makran"). [5] After the collapse of Alexander's empire the area was ruled by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander’s generals. The region then came under "local rule" around about 303 BC. The region remained on the sidelines of history for a millennium, until the Arab-Muslim army of Muhammad bin Qasim captured the town of Gwadar in 711 CE and over the intervening (and nearly equivalent) amount of time the area was contested by various powers, including the Mughals (from the east) and the Safavids (from the west). The Portuguese captured, sacked and burnt Gwadar in 1581,[6] and this was then followed by almost two centuries of local rule by the various Balochi tribes. The city was visited by Ottoman Admiral Sidi Ali Reis in 1550s and mentioned in his book Mirat ul Memalik (The Mirror of Countries), 1557 CE [7]. According to Sidi Ali Reis, the inhabitants of Gwadar were Baloch and their chief was Malik Jelaleddin, son of Malik Dinar. In 1783, the Khan of Kalat granted suzerainty over Gwadar to Taimur Sultan, the defeated ruler of Muscat. [8] When the sultan subsequently retook Muscat, he was to continue his rule in Gwadar by appointing a wali (or "governor"). This wali was then ordered to subjugate the nearby coastal town of Chah Bahar (in modern-day Iran). The Gwadari fort was built during Omani rule, whilst telegraph lines were later extended into the town courtesy of the British. In the 1900s, the Gwadar enclave was transferred to Pakistan, after Aga Khan III paid £3 million and gifted Gwader to Pakistan, and it was then made part of the Balochistan province. In 2002, the Gwadar Port project (of building a large, deep-sea port) was begun in the town. The government of Pakistan intends to develop the entire area in order to reduce its reliance in shipping on the port of Karachi. In addition to expanding port facilities, the Project aims to build industrial complexes in the area and to connect the town via a modern highway to the rest of Pakistan. By the end of 2004 the first phase had been completed.
GEOPOLITICAL IMPORTANCE
The Pakistani Government has initiated several projects, with majority financial and technical assistance from China, to develop Gwadar's strategic location as a goods transit and trade point. The primary project is the construction of a deep-sea port at Gwadar to enable high-volume cargo movement to and from the landlocked Central Asian states. The new port will also encompass conversion facilities to allow for the movement of natural gas as a part of plans for a termination point for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan natural gas pipeline. The secondary project is a coastal highway connecting Gwadar to Karachi, whose $200 million cost will be completely financed by the Chinese. Gwadar will serve as a port of entry for oil and gas to be transported by land to the western regions of China. The project's fate is tied to the decentralization of government in Pakistan.[10] If an agreement is brokered with the Baluch, the Pakistani military will gain a strategic depth southwest from its naval base in Karachi that has long been vulnerable to blockade by the Indian Navy. China is going to be the beneficiary of Gwadar's most accessible international trade routes to the Central Asian republics and Xinjiang. By extending its East-West Railway from the Chinese border city of Kashi to Peshawar in Pakistan's northwest, Beijing can receive cargo to and from Gwadar along the shortest route, from Karachi to Peshawar. The rail network could also be used to supply oil from the Persian Gulf to Xinjiang. Pakistan's internal rail network can also provide China with rail access to Iran. Rail access will however be hampered somewhat by differences in gauge: China and Iran - 1435 mm; Pakistan - 1676 mm; Central Asia - 1524 mm.
ECONOMIC FORECASTS
The government declared Gwadar port a "Special Economic Zone" in the budget, 2003-2004. All banks will open their branches, five star hotels has already been be built and are operational, offshore banking will be started, factories, warehouses and storage will be set up, the tourism industry will be promoted in the area, an export processing zone will be set up, making Pakistan a very attractive place for direct foreign investment, and Gwadar port a regional hub of trade and investment activities.
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
OMANOman has offered $100 million aid for the development of social and infrastructure facilities in Balochistan. Out of $100 million, Oman has provided $7 million for extending of runway at Gwadar Airport, construction of jetties, upgradation of Gwadar Hospital, provision of 100 engines to fishermen and construction of power house. Oman is also financing construction of Gwadar-Hoshab Road, water supply scheme in Gwadar area and construction of irrigation dams.[citation needed]
Pakistan and Oman have signed a number of agreements including Avoidance of Double Taxation, Promotion and Protection of Investment, Cultural, Technical and Educational Cooperation, Agreement on cooperation between Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry and FPCCI, Maritime Boundary Agreement and Agreement to establish Pak-Oman Joint Investment Company.[citation needed]
Around 70,000 Pakistani citizens work in Oman.[citation needed]
PAKISTAN
Pakistan through networking of roads is linking Gwadar with Karachi and the north to enable the Central Asian States to use Gwadar as a port for their trade. Water supply is being improved, seven jetties are being constructed and local fishermen are being given motor engine run boats. The local hospital is also being upgraded. A number of electric power generation projects are also being carried out in Gwadar and in its surroundings. The Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO), a subsidiary of the Wapda, has geared up the work for building the power transmission line. It is expected to be completed soon.
AIRPORT
Gwadar has a big airport for commercial aircrafts. There is a need for the expansion of the airport and enlargement of its runway to facilitate the landing of wide body aero-planes. CAA has been directed to upgrade the Gwadar Airport for the landing of jet planes by the end of 2004. Gwadar port will be open air and after its inauguration the jet planes shall be landing at the Gwadar airport. A sum of 2.3 million dollars is being utilized from Omani grant. The Pakistan government and the Civil Aviation Authority are also contributing additional Rs563.35 million for this purpose. the the above mantions are all like lie becoz i am blonging from pakistan and the airport of Gwadar build by simply not like that wrote above there only 4 flights operating an a week except 2 international flight Gwadar muscat Gwadar there no any passengers load becoz fair is very very high, i dont know which resons while Karachi- to lahore 800 km by air maile the fair is 4000/= but Gwadar to karachi 380 air mile the fair is 5700/6800 this is a this is the kidding... for us
DRY PORT
A dry port in the Sino-Pakistani border town of Sust, 200 km north of Gilgit, was constructed in 2004 at a cost of Rs 90 million. Soon, President Musharraf announced that the state of the art facility would be linked to Gwadar via the Karakoram Highway. According to the president, this provides parts of China with the shortest access to Pakistani deep sea ports, and the Middle East.
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR ABOUT GWADAR
Gwadar I am blonging from Gwadar but name of Gwadar many people black mailing to others the people of Gwadar simply are innocent persons they not know geeting there rights becoz MNA,s Sanoters all outsider from Gwadar and GPA and GDA all emplyees selected by own pernolly by MNA, Sanoters all Gwadar people unemplyees at least 2500 educated loacl youngist in Gwadar but you can c in GDA/GPA they are all out sider like Turbat/Panjgur this is the wicknis of our representaives they do not do any things about Gwdaar peoples. Media not know fully information about Gwadar they only came get intereive from un-local persons instead of local person at Gwadar..
RICE ZONE
Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP)-apex body of the rice exporters in the country- has decided to establish a rice zone in Gwadar to fetch the opportunities in the area after the construction of new port. The establishment of warehouses will provide extraordinary facilities to rice exporters especially for those who export rice to Iran as the Iranian border is only at a distance of three hours from Gwadar.rs and other plants have been installed in addition to a 50 MW power-house. 33 km railway line from Taftan to Saindak has also been laid. The Chinese company MRDL has so far invested $25 million (Rs 1.5 billion) on the project.
TRANS-AFGHAN GAS PIPELINE
The 1400 km Trans-Afghan Gas Pipeline (TAP) from Turkemenistan to Gwadar(Pakistan), a long-dormant project that would pump Turkmen natural gas to markets in South Asia, may finally be poised to begin at a cost of $3 billion. The Government has announced that a massive defense facility will be constructed in the city in order to guarantee the security of the area. The Government has also announced that a new shipbuilding centre will be built at Gwadar, with an as-yet unspecified international partner.
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