Pakistan set to begin Gwadar shipyard project

With the vision of incentivizing the repair industry and commercial shipbuilding, creating new jobs, and spurring economic growth, Pakistan has finalized the construction details for a new shipyard in Gwadar that is the country’s deep port in Balochistan. The provincial and federal governments of Pakistan have announced recently a joint collaboration for the establishment of the Gwadar shipyard by signing an MoU.

This project holds great regional importance and is a significant element for the socio-economic development of Balochistan and thus Pakistan as it will be boosting the revenue generation for the province, and creating employment for the locals. Gwadar shipyard will be offering shipbuilding as well as repairing along with training facilities that will benefit the whole region. The completion of this project will be done in two to three years after the feasibility study is done.

Benefits of Gwadar Shipyard

This joint venture of the Federal and Balochistan government is being considered as a historic project which will lead the province into a new era of economical development and prosperity with the creation of new jobs for the youth of Pakistan. This project is very important for the country as it is linked to the shipbuilding industry which is further linked to many other industries of the region. This involvement of multiple industries is going to play a vital role in job multiplication in all aspects.

And not only that, the shipyard industry plays an important role in both military and commercial sectors, which further strengthens national and economic security. If we see the stats, Japan, South Korea, and China are currently the 3 countries that are dominating the global shipbuilding industry.

At present, the shipbuilding, maintenance, and repair work in Pakistan is undertaken at the state-owned KSEW (Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works). KSEW has built over five hundred nasal and commercial vessels of numerous types for both international and local customers since the mid-1950s. AI-Abbas, which is a 28,000 DWT (Deadweight Tonnage) carrier is the biggest merchant ship built by Karachi Shipyard.

This new shipyard that will be built at the deep seaport of Gwadar will have improved capacity as well as state-of-art facilities for the fulfillment of all repairing and modern shipbuilding requirements of Pakistan. This project will also address all the regional countries’ emerging demands. Gwadar seaport can probably become the regional maritime hub in the future as it is located very close to the Strait of Hormuz, which is the most important oil transit chokepoint of the world, connecting the Middle East, Central, and South Asia.