ISLAMABAD - Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi on Tuesday said that work on various projects in Gwadar continues at a fast pace to develop the port city to an international standard.
Addressing a news conference here, the minister said that work on Gwadar airport is underway and it will be an international airport with world class facilities for passengers and cargo handling.
He said that the Pak-China Friendship Hospital will be constructed at a cost of 100 million dollars to provide state-of-the-art medical facilities to people. The hospital is planned on 68 acres of land and one out of six medical blocks and almost 20 percent of the residential blocks are completed, he told the media.
The minister said that a 300 megawatt coal powered plant is also being set up in Gwadar. A plant to treat hard water for human consumption is also being established. It will process five hundred thousand gallons of water per day, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of China Overseas Port Holding Company Zhang Baozhong said that the project of Gwadar Port was first awarded to a Singaporean company which wasted many years without starting the work. He said the incumbent government of Pakistan took immediate steps to resolve our problems. The government proved that it believes on practical work.
Zhang Baozhong said people of Gwadar are very hard working and peace loving and a bright future awaits them with the development of Gwadar Port and other infrastructure in the city. He assured that billions of dollars of investments will be made in Gwadar that will provide a large number of jobs to the local people. He said that Gwadar will become a new economic hub of Pakistan.
The CEO of Chinese company appreciated Pakistan government, Pakistan Army and other institutions in providing maximum facilitation to Chinese companies working on various projects in Gwadar.
