Gwadar Post Panama – The Good News
The dawn of the 21 st Century has brought development and prosperity prospects to Pakistan. Gwadar is the lifeline of CPEC and CPEC is the heart of OBOR, the One Belt One Road Project of China that will connect the economic activity of three continents; Asia, Europe and Africa, promising economic prosperity to more than half the world population. How much benefit any participating country wants to reap will depend on its preparedness strategy and negotiation power. The good news is that CPEC is a key pillar of OBOR and China needs to see it through for its own economic enhancement and sustainability. It is even better that CPEC is not any Pakistani political governments’ project. The time span, structure and depth of CPEC extends beyond the five-year constitutional limitation on a political government’s tenure. The jolts of the political turmoil in the country are only temporary and will wither away as the dust settles in the Post Panama era. The mega project carries full support of the country’s security forces from North to South and East to West. This fact renders CPEC as secure as the national borders. Today CPEC is not a dream: it is a dream on road to realization.
Groups of Chinese investors, bankers, consultants, work force and diplomats regularly fly into Gwadar daily. From the airport they are escorted under heavy security to the port compound where they attend to their business and remain in their self-sufficient and secure residential quarters. The Chinese live as a closed community in Gwadar primarily due to security concerns. They are self-sufficient in Chefs, kitchen attendants, domestic service staff and barely depend on local population for every day basic amenities support.
The construction inside the port area is at an all-time high. The foundations of several buildings have been laid since early this year and the steel structures are currently being erected at high speed. It is expected that these serviced buildings will be ready in very little time as fabricated completion structure and furnishings will be shipped in from China and assembled here. A five-star hotel and a huge covered structure; probably a warehouse, are the priority for completion as arrangement for a huge industrial exhibition in Gwadar are being finalized. This exhibition will trigger construction activity in the port city as Chinese fabricated buildings and construction solutions will unveil themselves to the local real estate investors and quick fix imported solutions will curtail the construction time. Gwadar cityscape should start shaping in the next three to four years.
The international focus on CPEC, specifically on Gwadar is escalating as more and more countries register their interest in this crucial activity of a highly significant geo-political region. Gwadar offers competition to keys ports in the region such as Dubai, Chahbahar, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru, Panaji, Marmagoa, Mangalore and Kochi along the Arabian Sea coast line. A port city is not just a transit conduit but also a trade and tourist hub. Despite serious concerns on how Gwadar as an international deep-sea port will affect the neighbouring port cities, interest of these countries to link up with CPEC is constantly on the rise. According to claims by our government leaders around 60 countries have expressed interest in the CPEC project. Afghanistan, India and Iran are keen for direct access to the trade route. Apart from the key sponsor China; Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, UK, France, Central Asian States have expressed keen interest in CPEC. Once fully functional Gwadar will be the gateway to Asian and European Countries and directly or indirectly it will help boost regional economy and social welfare. A smooth completion of the CPEC project is essential for the economic progress of all international stakeholders.
Where China has become a hub of excitement and activity aligned with a strong strategy, planning and implementation framework, Pakistan is struggling to capitalize on CPEC largely due to poor strategy, planning, implementation and negotiation in national interest. Barely any authentic information has been made public regarding agreements between China and Pakistan and associated terms and conditions, routine events and decisions, project updates, issues affecting the concerned diasporas of the population and steps taken by the relevant government departments to resolve public issues. This constantly churns the rumour mill providing opportunity to the unruly handful to exploit the common man for individual gain. Property dealers, estate agents, land developers and touts, are all having a hay day taking undue advantage of the innocent investors hoping to benefit from the economic prospects offered by CPEC. Lack of credible information coupled with non-existence of competent management information systems in the public offices has increased the hardships faced by the public manifold particularly in Gwadar which is the fourth key pillar of CPEC project.
The key question back home is how will Pakistan benefit from this unique opportunity? The scarce information that is available in the public domain reveals that consultations on major aspects of the CPEC project could have been better negotiated to benefit the country and the nation. The inclusion of the provinces for equitable distribution of the bounty of this project at a much later stage following conception of the project is an example in point. The ordinary citizen is still unaware of the parameters of CPEC and its socio-economic implications in the country once the project nears completion.
The government should regularly inform the public about all events, projects, progress, completion time-frames, terms and conditions etc as every citizen has a right to know what the project is costing, how Pakistan will benefit from it and what opportunities CPEC can provide to the national workforce, trader, manufacturer and investor. Despite the fact that our leaders time and again slacken while prioritizing national interests, the opportunity offered by CPEC is gigantic so that even if the government fails to organize a system to trickle down the benefits to the common man, the individual can still venture into the land of opportunities treading with care and caution.
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