500,000 Chinese professionals expected in Gwadar by 2023

LONDON: A leading Chinese investment company has announced to invest $500 million in Gwadar in first phase of project aimed at building homes for around 500,000 Chinese professionals expected to locate in Gwadar by 2023.

China Pak Investment Corporation (CPIC) announced  partnership with Top International Engineering Corporation (TIEC), a Chinese state owned company with over $100 billion worth of projects delivered since 1950, to develop China Pak Hills the first Chinese built Master-Community in Gwadar. 

The ceremony was attended by China Pak Investment Corporation officials Jian Zheng, Chief Operations Officer Dawei Li, spokesperson Stuart Reid, chief operating officer  of One Investments, architect Vladimir Tchaly; legal consultant Moshiur Mian and Syed Zeeshaan Shah, the Chief Executive Officer of One Investments and former Apprentice Star.  Jian Zheng of China Pak Investment Corporation spoke about the relationship with TIEC and the opportunity that the One Belt One Road investment by the Chinese government offers to Pakistan and particularly to Gwadar. He termed China Pak Hills as an unprecedented development project. 

He said: “China's policy to unite emerging economies with aspirations towards development will someday soon transform nations like Pakistan into developed economies. This vision has driven the partnership of the China Pak Investment Corporation and Top International Engineering Corporation to develop China Pak Hills formerly known as International Port City with the Gwadar Development Authority.”

Vladimir Tchaly spoke about the vision and creativity that the design team offers and how the project will be translated into  contemporary development for a community of over 10,000 residents.

Stuart Reid, COO of One Investments Ltd, said,  “China Pak Hills is a unique and exciting opportunity. The level of investment and commitment made by the Chinese government in the CPEC guarantees that Gwadar is going to be one of the most important trading and access points in the world. Its geographic position, combined with the infrastructure being created through the CPEC promises exponential growth.”

Zeeshan Shah, CEO of One Investments, told Geo News that he had  visited Gwadar seven times in the last two years and found the area most peaceful and conducive for investment. He said that exit and entry points of the whole Gwadar region are controlled by Pakistan Army, providing top order security and safety. “Gwadar has everything that an investor needs. It’s just another world where order exists and everyone working and living there will have fool proof security around them. 

He said “spanning over 10 million sq ft across 3 phases, China Pak Hills will be the first development project of its kind in Gwadar. A mixed-use gated development tailor-made for Chinese professionals in Gwadar,   offering an all-encompassing lifestyle to live, work and play, with a host of facilities that will set the benchmark of future developments. The company building the model city has an annual turnover of around $10 billion. The aim of this project is to build infrastructure for the influx of Pakistani and Chinese professionals. Growth in Gwadar will go up massively and it will need strong social infrastructure to cater for this need.”

 Giving  example of a Chinese city of Shenzhen which was a poor village in 1979, Zeeshan Shah said the population of this town is now over 30 million and its annual growth stands at $250 million. China is doing the same in Gwadar, its population will be go up by half a million in next six years. “Gwadar offers tremendous opportunities. Once completed, it will become the most important port city in the world both from an economic and geopolitical perspectives.”

The announcement hails an exciting new phase in the development of the Gwadar port, the ‘Gateway City’ to the $62 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor. The CPEC is set to catapult Pakistan’s stature to a key global trade and economic hub and includes a bouquet of projects that will not only improve Pakistan’s infrastructure, but will further deepen the economic and political ties between China and Pakistan. The China Pak Investment Corporation acquired GDA approved International Port City, which is under application in GDA to be renamed to China Pak Hills.