GWADAR: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday formally inaugurated Gwadar port, the center of $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Samaa reported.
Following the inauguration, the port has formally been operationalised for trade activities through the western route of CPEC. First mega pilot trade cargo will depart from Gwadar port today for Middle East and African countries.
Federal Ministers Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif and National Security Advisor Nasser Khan Janjua, National Party leader Mir Hasir Bazenjo and JUI (F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman accompanied the Prime Minister.
“I want to make it clear that CPEC is not only for a particular province but for entire Pakistan… And the enemy of CPEC is enemy of Pakistan,” the PM said while addressing the inauguration event.
PM said Pakistan will leave no stone unturned to materialize the CPEC in time.
The Prime Minister said it is an historic day marking the materialization of the vision and idea of one belt one road.
He said CPEC is aims at integrating development and commerce of various regions across Asia and Europe.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Balochistan Sanaullah Zehri welcomed the Chinese mega trade convoy and termed it a landmark in implementing the grand China Pakistan Economic Corridor project.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong said the day is very significant for CPEC and to China Pakistan relations.
He said it is for the first time that a convoy successfully passed through the western part of Pakistan from north to the South.
He said it is also for the first time that the Gwadar Port is exporting containers to the overseas destinations. It proved that the Port has the resources, design and handing capacity.
He said the trade convoy is an example of the spirit of mutual cooperation, joint construction and mutual benefit and win situation of both the countries. He said local people will get job opportunities with the completion of Gwadar port.
Addressing the ceremony, Chinese Company Sino Trans’s representative said the first trade convoy actualized the connectivity through CPEC. He thanked the Pakistan Government and armed forces for providing best security to the convey.
He said China and Pakistan are best neighbours, partners and friends. He hoped that the CPEC will be completed on time.
In his remarks, Director General Frontier Works Organization Major General Muhammad Afzal said China Pakistan Economic Corridor is a classic example of Pakistan-China friendship and cooperation under one belt one road initiative.
He said the trade convoy covered three thousand kilometers journey from Kashgar to Gwadar. He said the trade convoy reached Gwadar after passing through Gilgit Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh.
He said FWO constructed 873 kilometers of highways in Balochistan in two years.
