Ports of Balochistan
Ports Of Balochistan : GWADAR
Introduction
Gwadar Port is the third port of Pakistan - Karachi and Port Qasim being the other two. Gwadar borders on Arabian Sea and lies in the Balochistan Province. It is about 533 km from Karachi and 120 km from the Iranian border. Gwadar Port is located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf and outside the Straits of Hormuz. It is near the key shipping routes used by the mainline vessels in the region with connections to Africa, Asia and Europe and enjoys high commercial and strategic significance.
Various professional studies manifest that Gwadar Port location is the most advantageous one as an alternative port, which could handle mother ships and large oil tankers in due course.
It will act as catalyst for large number of related projects like:- * Trans-shipment of bulk cargo * Oil storage, refinery and petrochemicals * Export processing and industrial zones * Export of minerals/livestock * Services (hotels, accommodation, tourism)
The purpose of developing this port is to stimulate economic growth in the western and northern parts of Pakistan, utilizing the available coastline resources of the country and also providing an outlet for the land locked Central Asian Countries and Afghanistan through transit trade and offering transshipment facilities.
History
The region remained on the sidelines of history for a millennium until the Arab-Muslim army of Muhammad bin Qasim captured Gwadar in 711 A.D. and over the intervening (and nearly equivalent) amount of time the area was contested by various powers, including the Mughals (from the east) and the Safavids (from the west).
The Portuguese captured, sacked and burnt Gwadar in 1581
This was then followed by almost two centuries of local rule by the various Balochi tribes. The city was visited by Ottoman Admiral Seydi Ali Reis in 1550s and mentioned in his book Mirat ul Memalik (The Mirror of Countries), 1557. According to Seydi Ali Reis, the
Introduction
Gwadar Port is the third port of Pakistan - Karachi and Port Qasim being the other two. Gwadar borders on Arabian Sea and lies in the Balochistan Province. It is about 533 km from Karachi and 120 km from the Iranian border. Gwadar Port is located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf and outside the Straits of Hormuz. It is near the key shipping routes used by the mainline vessels in the region with connections to Africa, Asia and Europe and enjoys high commercial and strategic significance.
Various professional studies manifest that Gwadar Port location is the most advantageous one as an alternative port, which could handle mother ships and large oil tankers in due course.
It will act as catalyst for large number of related projects like:- * Trans-shipment of bulk cargo * Oil storage, refinery and petrochemicals * Export processing and industrial zones * Export of minerals/livestock * Services (hotels, accommodation, tourism)
The purpose of developing this port is to stimulate economic growth in the western and northern parts of Pakistan, utilizing the available coastline resources of the country and also providing an outlet for the land locked Central Asian Countries and Afghanistan through transit trade and offering transshipment facilities.
History
The region remained on the sidelines of history for a millennium until the Arab-Muslim army of Muhammad bin Qasim captured Gwadar in 711 A.D. and over the intervening (and nearly equivalent) amount of time the area was contested by various powers, including the Mughals (from the east) and the Safavids (from the west).
The Portuguese captured, sacked and burnt Gwadar in 1581
This was then followed by almost two centuries of local rule by the various Balochi tribes. The city was visited by Ottoman Admiral Seydi Ali Reis in 1550s and mentioned in his book Mirat ul Memalik (The Mirror of Countries), 1557. According to Seydi Ali Reis, the