Gwadar Development Authority suspends 100 housing schemes

• China to revise master plan of Gwadar city

GWADAR: Though the mushrooming real estate companies are advertising plots at Gwadar, the Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) has suspended around 100 housing schemes for changes in master plan.

According to details, China will revise the master plan of Gwadar city, for which a joint committee of GDA is reviewing the development of master plan after every six months. The decision of suspending the housing schemes was taken by the authority to avoid the haphazard construction in the area.

Talking to Pakistan Today, GDA Director General (DG) Dr Sajjad said that the private real estate firms will remain suspended till formulation of the master plan. The plan is expected to be ready by August 14, 2018.

He said that the master plan of the city is being developed at 290,000 acres of land, out of which private housing societies own almost 16,000 acres. Out of the 290,000 acres, 160,000 acres will be allocated for the residential area.

According to the DG, an ‘oil city’ is also being developed in Gwadar at 80,000 acres of land for which PC-I have been prepared. Replying to a question, he said that apart from the private housing societies, Pakistan Navy holds 1,400 acres for constructing a naval academy in Gwadar.

According to a source, 70 per cent of Gwadar’s land is now in private hands.

Earlier, the Planning Commission had initiated the process to launch a project for developing Gwadar as an integrated ‘smart port city’. The plan was aimed to leverage information technology-based solutions to boost economic productivity and quality of life of citizens of Gwadar, whilst minimising resource consumption and pollution.

With the inclusion of the port in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, there is an urgent need to update the existing plan to reflect the new strategic direction.

As per documents, the current master plan of Gwadar city, last updated in 2005, has two interdependent elements: the port and the city of Gwadar. The strategic focus on simultaneous development is primarily due to the natural and symbolic relationship that exists between a port and the city that surrounds it; one cannot be developed without the other.

A shortage of resources, non-fulfilment of concession agreements by the Pakistan government and the original concessionaire – the Port of Singapore Authority – and the limited commercial activity in Gwadar city have together retarded the development of the port over the last few years.

As of 2013, the concession for the port has been awarded to a Chinese operator who is in the process of updating the port master plan. Under the new plan initiated by the Planning Commission, the port will be considered as a separate entity from the city.

The new plan is also designed to update the existing master plan of Gwadar city, and develop strategies for the establishment of Gwadar as a preferred economic and lifestyle destination.

The plan will be based on inclusive and sustainable strategic development to ensure the socio-economic uplift of the Makran coast in general and the Gwadar region in particular. The plan will recommend regulatory interventions and ways and means to develop Gwadar as a special economic zone (SEZ), and ensure short-term economic growth, including trickle-down effects.

It would also suggest strategies to facilitate trade, tourism, community participation, public-private partnerships and industrial and economic development on a national and regional level.