Gwadar Smart port city Master Plan (2017 - 2050)

The Gwadar Smart Port City Masterplan (2017 to 2050) is a landmark document that sets out the detail of development for Gwadar in its entirety.

In late September 2019, the masterplan for Gwadar in Pakistan was finally approved by local authorities, which took nearly four years for China and Pakistan to draft.

A first memorandum of understanding regarding the construction of this new city was signed by Beijing and Islamabad in November 2015, before the signing of a formal agreement in May 2017. This delay reflected the importance given to the construction of Gwadar, a major metropolis that will host more than 2 million inhabitants by 2050 (150,000 inhabitants currently live in Gwadar).

Pakistan wants to develop Gwadar with no further delay; companies in charge of the construction of the first residential districts will have to deliver their first realizations by 2022. For Pakistani authorities, it is important to make Gwadar more than just a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), but the home of a large and dynamic population who would enjoy modern amenities. Priority is also given to integrating the local population into the new city to promote an inclusive city.

To accelerate the development of Gwadar, Pakistan needs to attract new investors.

In early October 2021, Imran Khan made his third official visit to Beijing, where he met with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, and discussed about the development of Gwadar. Before this visit, Pakistan decided to grant a 23-year tax holiday for investors in the Gwadar Special Economic Zone (SEZ). This measure will for the moment be limited to the Gwadar Special Economic Zone (SEZ) alone, however its likely to be extended to local investors and investment in other Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Pakistan.

Duringhis visitto the United States in July 2019, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan encouraged the US-Pakistani community to invest in the China-Pakistan economic corridor, including in the development of Gwadar. New measures will soon be introduced to further attract foreign companies.

The Masterplan runs to over 500 pages of detail setting out the land use classes, the phasing, the density of housing, the industrial areas and the time lines of population growth.

It also sets out the amenities, landscaping, sustainable development policy, education, leisure, roads, power infrastructure, water requirements, desalinisation and the volumes of people expected as well the load of freight traffic to and from the seaport.

Suffice to say it is a comprehensive document using all the learning from new smart city developments from across the world to ensure Gwadar City becomes an exemplar among exemplars of economic success, development and growth.