ISLAMABAD: Long awaited agreement between Pakistan and China has been signed to hand over Gwadar Port to a Chinese company. China Overseas Port Holdings Limited will handle Gwadar Port now onward. The Gwadar port is currently being operated by PSA International of Singapore.
This development is so important for the region and Pakistan that President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari announced this development on statement television in his live speech.
“The contract of operation of Gwadar port is formally given to China. Today, the agreement is transferred from the Port of Singapore Authority to China Overseas Ports Holding Company Limited,” President Asif Ali Zardari announced.
“The award of this contract opens new opportunities for our people… It gives new impetus to Pakistan-China relations,” added Zardari in a speech broadcast live on television.
Gwadar Port is located at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, approximately 460 km (290 mi) west of Karachi, 75 km (47 mi) east of Pakistan’s border with Iran and 380 km (240 mi) km northeast of the nearest point in Oman across the Arabian Sea. It is situated on the eastern bay of a natural hammerhead-shaped peninsula protruding into the Arabian Sea from the coastline.
Gwadar Port is situated near the strategic Strait of Hormuz and its busy trading and oil shipping lanes. The surrounding region is home to around two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves. It is also the nearest warm-water seaport to the landlocked, but energy rich, Central Asian Republics and landlocked Afghanistan.
