Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong was impressed by a 65-year old local man named Shair Mohammad in Gwadar who had contributed his 752-square-kilometer land to promote education in the area.

Appreciating the spirit, the ambassador helped to build a school on the donated land on behalf of the Chinese government. The school is known s Faqeer primary school.

Shair Mohammad’s 10-member family is not wealthy. His relatives persuaded him to give up the plan given the soaring land prices, but he insisted on doing it, saying that education is the top priority of Pakistan, and what the Chinese company did is reliable.

Naseem Baloch, one of the old man’s sons, said his father recognizes the significance of the “Belt and Road” and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and believes Chinese President Xi Jinping is a far-sighted leader with a broad horizon.

According to a report of Chinese State-run newspaper People Daily, China’s Red Cross Foundation is now constructing a first aid center on the port. When completed in May, Chinese doctors will be sent to help local patients.

As the result of fast-growing cooperation between China and Pakistan under the framework of the China-led “Belt and Road” initiative, the Gwadar port, previously a poorly-known port town has shown new vitality. Locals have hailed it as a new hope for the nation.

The Gwadar port was first selected as a flagship project of bilateral cooperation under the “Belt and Road” initiative by President Xi and his Pakistani counterpart Mamnoon Hussain when the latter visited China in February 2014.

The port is now making headway according to the roadmap drawn by President Xi, and as a key part of the “Belt and Road” initiative, its benefits will extend not only to Chinese and Pakistani citizens but also to people in the whole region, said Babu Gulab, chairman of the Gwadar District Council.

In 2013, local residents could only live on fishing. Every week, there was only one flight from the port to Karachi. China-Pakistan bilateral cooperation has led to major changes. More people now travel to the area through daily flights, which are fully booked.

When a Chinese company took over the operations of the port in 2013 from the Pakistani government, an 836-square-kilometer parcel of land was valued at 500,000 Pakistani rupees ($4,906.77). The value of the same land area has soared 15 times to 7.5 million rupees, said Muhammad Taimour Muzaffar Chaychi, a Pakistani real estate businessman.

China Overseas Ports Holding Company Ltd.(COPHC) has restored water and power supply as well as the machinery, warehouse and supervision system, and opened flights to China, the Middle East and Africa.

“Our life has undergone major changes since the Chinese company came here,” a local fisherman said.

The residents are the primary beneficiaries of the accelerated construction of the Gwadar port. COPHC said it had guaranteed income for local residents.