Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed immediate measures to operationalize the Gwadar Port on a commercial basis.

Chairing a meeting of the Federal Cabinet in Islamabad today, he instructed the formation of a committee headed by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal regarding the operationalization of Gwadar Port. The committee will work with all stakeholders to make Gwadar Port a modern and fully functional port.

Shehbaz Sharif also gave instructions to organize an international conference to create awareness about the importance of the Gwadar Port. He emphasized the need to evolving a comprehensive marketing and awareness and intensifying diplomatic efforts regarding the Gwadar Port.

The Prime Minister also sought details of imports and exports being carried out through Gwadar Port.

The meeting was informed that the Gwadar Port has the capacity to provide low-cost and timely access to ships up to 50,000 deadweight tonnage to the Persian Gulf and transshipment to the Gulf countries.

Furthermore, the port will play an important role in the development of the mining and aquaculture sectors in Balochistan. It will benefit the western regions of China and the Central Asian states.

The meeting was further informed that the Gwadar Free Zone has been exempted from all federal, provincial, and local taxes. The rules for the Gwadar Free Zone have also been formulated.

It was told that criminal negligence was committed in the dredging of Gwadar Port from 2018 to 2022, which severely affected the port's depth. However, the dredging work of Gwadar Port was completed in 2022-23, restoring the port's depth. It was further informed that all utility facilities have been provided at Gwadar Port.

Besides, the meeting was apprised that several public welfare projects have also been established in Gwadar, including the Pak-China Friendship Hospital, Gwadar Institute of Technical Education, Pak-China Primary School, Gwadar Livelihood Project, Gwadar Fisheries Processing and Export Zone, and Gwadar Solar Park.

It was further briefed that the government is working on a rail link to connect Gwadar to Pakistan Railways' Main Line M-4. The Gwadar-Quetta Highway was completed in 2018, benefiting areas including Turbat, Hoshab, and Panjgur. Furthermore, the construction of the remaining section of Motorway M-8 (Gwadar-Hoshab-Rato Dero) is part of the plan to connect Gwadar with Sukkur.

To further improve connectivity between Gwadar and Quetta, a road is under construction from Nokundi to Mashkhel, and work on the road from Mashkhel to Panjgur will commence soon. The construction of the Gwadar Eastbay Expressway is progressing rapidly. Work is being carried out in collaboration with the Balochistan government regarding Gwadar Safe City.

The Planning Minister proposed modernizing the cargo inspection facility at Gwadar Port and using artificial intelligence.