By the azure waters of the Arabian Sea, a remote Pakistani fishing town is being transformed into a massive deep sea port to cash in on the inexorable rise of the Chinese economy.
Gwadar port: The newly built US$250 million port is expected to start operations later this year
Gwadar port, a US$250 million project that is 80 per cent Chinese funded, is expected to start operations later this year to capitalise on its strategic location between South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.
The port lies near the Straits of Hormuz through which about 20 per cent of the world's oil is moved.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz recently claimed Gwadar could 'change the map of shipping in the world' and serve as a regional energy hub for shipping and refining oil from the Gulf.
But the development of this barren peninsula has received a hostile response from impoverished tribesmen who say it is depriving them of fishing waters and bringing no economic benefit to locals.
Tribal insurgents are suspected in the killings of six Chinese workers in the Baluchistan province since the project got off the ground five years ago - including a May 2004 bombing that killed three Chinese engineers.
China's interest is driven by concerns about energy security. It is seeking a place to anchor pipelines to secure oil and gas supplies from the Persian Gulf.
Beijing also believes that helping Pakistan develop will boost economic activity in its far western province of Xinjiang and dampen a simmering, low-intensity rebellion.
'It will greatly benefit China's trade to Europe, Africa and Middle East,' said Moonis Ahmer, an international affairs professor at the University of Karachi. 'It will also give a boost to the economy in south-western Pakistan.'
Some international security experts speculate that the Chinese navy may use Gwadar for port calls, although current arrangements do not explicitly provide for that.
China, which has long-standing ties with Pakistan, has financed US$198 million of the total cost of US$248 million to build the port, with the rest covered by the Pakistan government.
State-owned China Harbor Engineering Company did most of the port construction, bringing in 350 Chinese engineers, technicians and other skilled workers. With most of the port construction complete, only a few Chinese workers now remain in Gwadar.
Much of the transport infrastructure needed to link Gwadar with Pakistan's northern neighbour is yet to be built, but potentially, it will nearly halve the overland distance from China's landlocked western provinces to the sea. The first stage of a 900 km road is under construction that would eventually link this south-western tip of Pakistan with the country's north-south Indus Highway, facilitating overland transport from Gwadar towards China.
The link road should be completed within five years, says Ahmed Baksh Lahri, chief of the Gwadar Development Authority.
In March, President Pervez Musharraf presided over the ceremonial inauguration of the port, although officials say it will be several more months before the three shipping berths open for business.
Singapore's PSA International last year won a bid to operate the port for 40 years, and the government has exempted it from corporate tax and all import duties on equipment and machinery.
Khurram Abbas, the chief of PSA's operation in Gwadar, said PSA plans to invest between US$5 billion and US$8 billion over the 40-year period. He forecast that the port would generate revenues of between US$17 billion and US$31 billion during that time.
Gwadar port: The newly built US$250 million port is expected to start operations later this year
Gwadar port, a US$250 million project that is 80 per cent Chinese funded, is expected to start operations later this year to capitalise on its strategic location between South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.
The port lies near the Straits of Hormuz through which about 20 per cent of the world's oil is moved.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz recently claimed Gwadar could 'change the map of shipping in the world' and serve as a regional energy hub for shipping and refining oil from the Gulf.
But the development of this barren peninsula has received a hostile response from impoverished tribesmen who say it is depriving them of fishing waters and bringing no economic benefit to locals.
Tribal insurgents are suspected in the killings of six Chinese workers in the Baluchistan province since the project got off the ground five years ago - including a May 2004 bombing that killed three Chinese engineers.
China's interest is driven by concerns about energy security. It is seeking a place to anchor pipelines to secure oil and gas supplies from the Persian Gulf.
Beijing also believes that helping Pakistan develop will boost economic activity in its far western province of Xinjiang and dampen a simmering, low-intensity rebellion.
'It will greatly benefit China's trade to Europe, Africa and Middle East,' said Moonis Ahmer, an international affairs professor at the University of Karachi. 'It will also give a boost to the economy in south-western Pakistan.'
Some international security experts speculate that the Chinese navy may use Gwadar for port calls, although current arrangements do not explicitly provide for that.
China, which has long-standing ties with Pakistan, has financed US$198 million of the total cost of US$248 million to build the port, with the rest covered by the Pakistan government.
State-owned China Harbor Engineering Company did most of the port construction, bringing in 350 Chinese engineers, technicians and other skilled workers. With most of the port construction complete, only a few Chinese workers now remain in Gwadar.
Much of the transport infrastructure needed to link Gwadar with Pakistan's northern neighbour is yet to be built, but potentially, it will nearly halve the overland distance from China's landlocked western provinces to the sea. The first stage of a 900 km road is under construction that would eventually link this south-western tip of Pakistan with the country's north-south Indus Highway, facilitating overland transport from Gwadar towards China.
The link road should be completed within five years, says Ahmed Baksh Lahri, chief of the Gwadar Development Authority.
In March, President Pervez Musharraf presided over the ceremonial inauguration of the port, although officials say it will be several more months before the three shipping berths open for business.
Singapore's PSA International last year won a bid to operate the port for 40 years, and the government has exempted it from corporate tax and all import duties on equipment and machinery.
Khurram Abbas, the chief of PSA's operation in Gwadar, said PSA plans to invest between US$5 billion and US$8 billion over the 40-year period. He forecast that the port would generate revenues of between US$17 billion and US$31 billion during that time.