Pakistan’s Gwadar Port opened to world on Sunday November 13, 2016 with the first large shipment of Chinese goods arriving, welcome by the Pakistani Prime Minister, reported Reuters.
Part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a US$46 billion trade route, designed to allow easier access between Western China and the Arabian Sea, the new deepwater port is part of a larger Gwadar development zone currently under construction.
Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan, said: “Pakistan is located at the intersection of three engines of growth in Asia – South Asia, China and Central Asia,
“CPEC will help in integrating these regions into an economic zone offering great opportunities for people of the region as well as investors from all over the world.”
GPEC has proven a huge success for China’s trade expansion, cutting the route for Chinese goods from over 12,000km to just 3,000km.
It is part of a wider strategy to compete with India on vital trade routes. Read more about the battle between the two powers.
