Gwadar Port de-silting operations set to start
China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) is all set to start de-silting operations at Gwadar Port to reclaim 14.5 meters of natural and original operational depth of Gwadar Port at a cost of Rs 4.7 billion.
According to Gwadar Pro, it is a high-octane CPEC project that finally makes its headway at a watershed moment of the 10th anniversary of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a signature venture of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Under the title of “the maintenance dredging of a navigational channel of Gwadar Port”, the project will be completed in 12 months as per the agreement signed between CHEC and Gwadar Port Authority (GPA). According to a GPA official, “since earlier we planned to tart only one part of the dredging process in two or three phases at Gwadar Port, so around Rs 1 billion were allocated in 2022-2023 budget for partial dredging. Later, it was finalized to do complete dredging”.
“The multi-million dollars project has a significant impact on Gwadar’s Port’s operations. It will pave the way for the construction of additional berths from the existing 602 meters in length to 1500 meters. Moreover, frequent dredging will help maintain the original depth of the channel, where vessels of any type can dock,” he added.
CHEC, the award-winner of the dredging operation, is an engineering contractor and a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), providing infrastructure construction, such as marine engineering, dredging and reclamation, road and bridge, railways, airports, and plant construction.