Home »Business and Economy » Pakistan » First Gwadar Expo opens today

All is set to inaugurate the first Gwadar Expo in Gwadar on Monday. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will inaugurate the two-day event being attended by foreign dignitaries, ambassadors and people from business community across the world. The expo aims at highlighting the significance of the Gwadar Port and Gwadar Free Zone as emerging business hub and creates maximum awareness about the full scope of Gwadar projects.

It will also provide a platform for interaction between local and foreign business entrepreneurs, financiers, investors and government officials to utilize the benefits of this mega project for enhanced investment, business and employment opportunities. The expo is being jointly organized by Gwadar Development Authority and China Overseas Ports Holding Company.

A business centre has also been set up by the China Overseas Ports Holding Company which will provide a one-window operation for matters including immigration, customs, visa operations and port clearance facilities. This two-day event will also highlight the success of companies already working on CPEC related projects, and provide detailed concrete information about opportunities for industrial cooperation between Chinese and Pakistani businessmen.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad the other day, Chinese Counselor Jiang Han said the exhibition will provide more business opportunities for foreign entrepreneurs under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

He said the conference and exhibition will highlight achievements of the companies already working on the CPEC-related projects. "This two-day conference and exhibition will highlight achievements of the companies already working on the CPEC related projects, besides providing detailed information about opportunities for industrial cooperation between Chinese and Pakistani businessmen," he said.

In the exhibition, the counsellor said, around 5,000 companies from various countries had applied to set up 150 booths to showcase their products. He said as many as 18 booths had been allocated to local companies free of cost. "We are confident that participants will support this conference and the exhibition will provide a unique opportunity to deepen business ties between Pakistani and Chinese companies" he added.

Jiang Han said the Gwadar Port had three multifunctional berths which could accommodate two 50,000 ton vessels simultaneously including 5 STS cranes, 400 Rf reefer container allocation and the stack yard of 500,000 square meters. He said the port could handle containers and other goods including bulk-cargo general cargo and RORO.

He said presently seafood containers from Pakistan's western coast area could be exported through Gwadar Port to China, Middle East and other regions. He said Gwadar Port was now connecting Karachi by marine high coast way and correcting Punjab and Singh Province with M-8 highway.

He said Gwadar Free Zone would be built adjacent to Gwadar Port. The South Area of Free Zone (phase-II) will develop a commercial logistics zone with the leading functions of commodity exhibition, transit and distribution relying on the existing port as well as fishery processing. He said Gwadar airport would be biggest as compared to Karachi. He said road infrastructure had been completed, adding Pakistan-China Friendship schools was providing education facilities to 150 local children and efforts were on to increase the number of students to 500.

He said storage of 220 million gallon water had been made. "We are providing one million gallon clean drinking water to local," he added. Responding to a question, he said, "We are not facing any security issue in Gwadar."

Copyright News Network International, 2018


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