CORPORATE WINDOW: BEIJING’S STRATEGIC GWADAR GAMBLE

Gwadar was supposed to be the crown jewel of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Instead, more than a decade after CPEC was announced, the port city has been anything but a success.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the multibillion-dollar project during his 2015 state visit to Pakistan. CPEC aimed to build transport and other infrastructure connecting Gwadar port with Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang region. The project gave a major boost to bilateral relations, especially after a Chinese state-run company secured the right to operate the port under a 40-year lease.

The idea arrived at a crucial moment for Pakistan, which was dealing with internal militancy and rising tensions with neighbouring India. Gwadar offered the promise of an economic corridor capable of transforming the country’s prospects.

Yet the port is located in Balochistan, Pakistan’s poorest province, which has a history of insurgency. The combination of ambitious promises and difficult local conditions has left the project far short of the expectations attached to it. What was presented as a game-changer has so far failed to become the economic engine Pakistan was promised.