PAKISTAN LEASES GWADAR PORT TO CHINESE COMPANY

A state-run Chinese company will operate Pakistan’s strategic Gwadar port for a period of 40 years following a recently awarded lease contract. The Ministry of Ports and Shipping announced that China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) would also carry out all the necessary development work on the Gulf port.

Gwadar forms the southern Pakistan hub of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. The port is designed to offer China an efficient router to the Middle East and Africa, and will also open up some of the remote, currently landlocked parts of the country.