If any other country in the world had the type of coast that Pakistan has, long stretches of virgin beaches with vast empty spaces hinterland, it would have been commercially exploited to the limit by now. But Pakistani planners being what they are, more akin to a mule with blinders, their focus has been more or less along the Indus Valley, with only lip-service attention to other areas. Whereas in the early days of the country it made sense, for a country with one seaport serving a population of 130 million (not counting the hundreds of millions in countries beyond) it is imperative to have alternatives. Furthermore domestic population congestion and economic factors because of the emerging markets of Central Asia require that a new sea-land dimension along a different axis be added for expansion or otherwise all facilities and opportunities are likely to be clogged and choked up.
If we take a bird’s eye view of Pakistan’s coast from Karachi westwards, we have in succession at least three possible ports capable of processing ocean-going vessels with minimum of effort. Very rightly the Pakistan Navy is already building up Ormara as a major naval base to shift emphasis away from the single bottleneck at Karachi. While retaining Ormara for purely military use, what is required now is a sustained effort at both Pasni and Gwadar, with focus on the latter for carving out Pakistan’s economic destiny in the 21st century.
Once oil was discovered in quantity in the Gulf, it was only a matter of time before some major commercial centres with port facilities came up, both inside and outside the Gulf. At that time Pakistan lost a golden opportunity for visionary planning. As it is Pakistani skilled and unskilled labour gave their blood and sweat to build up, along with a host of other Middle-Eastern cities, the two non-oil centres of Dubai and Bahrain in the Gulf, with Dubai as the prime free port in the Gulf. Because of inter-State problems, Iraq with Iran and Kuwait, the Gulf states with Iran, Saudi Arabia with Iran, etc., the Gulf can become a closed lake because of a very low flashpoint at the very hint of trouble, the Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf War taking place in the last two decades. As such, while in peacetime the ports are commercially very viable, in times of stress they become very vulnerable. Also, if Central Asia is to be commercially served, except for the Iranian ones, most of the ports are on the wrong side of the Gulf. For three major reasons, therefore, a port on the Pakistani coast on the Asian mainland in the vicinity of both the Gulf States and Iran becomes a viable proposition, viz (1) being outside the potential war zone (2) land access to the whole of Asia and (3) easy sea access to the Gulf ports making it an ideal transit station. Of particular interest would be to have supertankers offtake oil from oil staging points served by smaller vessels from the Gulf. Gwadar is the most preferable, being the better for the reasons aforementioned as well as having naturally sheltered port conditions on two sides. The Belgian Government had extended both a grant and aid that resulted in a fairly useful Fish Harbour constructed to international standards in the last 80s, early 90s.
If Gwadar had been developed as a major port at about the same time as Dubai, Dubai would never have had the commercial success it presently enjoys. Gwadar has many natural advantages that the Gulf lacks. For trade and commerce, Gwadar is a natural access port to Asia. It requires a road laterally to connect to the Iranian port of Chahbahar and thus the Iranian road network, it requires a road connection upto the RCD highway to give it access to not only whole of Central Asia but also South Western China, particularly Sinkiang Province. Because of the Karakoram Highway, it would be more economically feasible for China to have land access to Kashgar etc. through Gwadar. Similarly Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhastan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan can best be served from Gwadar. Obviously Gwadar presently has major hurdles to overcome, among them electricity and potable water. Partly this can be immediately supplied by having a barge-mounted power-cum-desalination plant, partly by having a major utility power base planned, with potable water being piped from not more than 18-20 kms away from a vast river cache formation. The Navy has already got a well-established base of sorts for many years, the Pakistan Coast Guards have a battalion. To give adequate sense of protection, the Pakistan Army could have a composite Brigade Group in a permanent location at Gwadar. As much as America’s west was opened up by the US Seventh Cavalry establishing forts in succession, the Pakistan Armed Forces can play a very salutary role here. Everyone knows how defence townships naturally become the hub of ancillary commercial activity.
It is believed that the Ministry of Communications has been working on a comprehensive plan to establish a two-lane coastal road. It has prepared a detailed study of each portion of the road from Lyari (West Karachi) up to Gwadar and beyond. The only objection one has is why should we not be bold in our planning and opt for a four-lane (or even a six-lane) coastal highway from day one? In fact let’s go better than that, why not establish a Pakistan Coastal Authority which will be charged with viz (1) developing the coastal highway in collaboration with the National Highway Authority and (2) the commercial development of the three seaports of Ormara, Pasni and Gwadar with major emphasis on Gwadar? In the present Federal Minister of Communications we have a very dynamic and upright person. Raja Nadir Pervaiz is no ordinary human being, he is one of Pakistan’s genuine heroes and has worked his way up in politics the hard way. This straightforward former soldier is known to be a man with drive and initiative, the PM has entrusted the right man for the right job. One feels that since the PM himself is a builder by instinct, he well realises the economic potential of sound communications, he should put the utmost priority in developing the prime piece of real estate that stretches for 500 to 600 kms of virgin territory along the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. He should get out of the bureaucratic straitjacket that is strangling his initiative and vision, the two qualities that went towards re-energizing a dormant PML. One can only visualise the great cities that can come up along the highways as mini-ports serving the commerce and industry as well as tourism. There can be vast stretches of inland fish and shrimp farms, coconut and date cultivations, even fruit under controlled conditions, etc. Visionary planning coupled with effective implementation is required, the number of jobs that will be created for the next 30-40 years is by itself staggering. Pakistan will become the hub of economic activity.
We have reached a virtual state of stagnation in commerce and industry, the result is we now have surplus electricity. We can spout lip-service rhetoric till kingdom come, at best our economic planners are hoping for miracles. Unless we take bold steps to open up Pakistan’s coast for economic exploitation in a planned manner, we will be strangled by the over-population as well as slow down of job creation. The PM was once reputed to be a man of vision, let him support Raja Nadir Pervaiz with all the means at his disposal to make the vast ocean front into Pakistan’s ‘Gold Coast’. Pakistan’s economic destiny lies along this seashore, do we have the vision and the courage to meet up with this challenge?
