Better linking East & West
▶ From Gwadar to Piraeus, the BRI exemplifies how global connectivity is strengthened
Sitting in one of the most underdeveloped regions of Southern Pakistan, where the economy is still developing, the climatic conditions are harsh, the Port of Gwadar Sea is located in a “Gobi desert” troubled by intermittent power supply, Zhang Baozhong, chairman of China Overseas Ports Holding Company, recalled when he first arrived in August, 2015. Shocked by what he saw, the area has now transformed into one of the largest ports in Pakistan, and dubbed by media as “Pakistan’s Shenzhen,” playing a key role not only in the economic and trade development of the country but also acting as an important hub under the Belt and Road Initiative ( BRI) connecting the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor to the sea.
As part of the many BRI signature projects creating prosperity and sustainable growth for people under a shared future, the participation of Chinese companies financially and technically in the development of local ports, be it the Gwadar Sea Port in Pakistan or the Port of Piraeus in Greece, stands as living evidence of how Chinese participants have injected new momentum into local economies and boosted greater connectivity in both their immediate regions and beyond, government officials and business representatives said.
When Chinese companies are looking overseas to renovate underdeveloped ports, they have expanded their business globally while offering new possibilities for local ports with advanced facility upgrades, financial and technical supports, unleashing their greater potentials in the world trade.
The ‘ Shenzhen of Pakistan’
Before 2013, Gwadar port was in a semi- abandoned state, the terminal facilities were outdated, and operations were barely being maintained by the import of wheat and fertilizers designated by the Pakistani government.
In 2013, Zhang’s company took over the port, and focused a huge amount of investment into recovering and upgrading port operations, including five new container bridge cranes, a new 100,000- square- meter storage yard, in addition to seawater desalination equipment.
The upgraded port has greatly lifted its shipping volume for international trade. On March 7, 2018, China Ocean Shipping Company COSCO Shipping Group ( COSCO) launched a Karachi Gwadar Gulf Service, which regularly uses Gwadar Port. The opening of this route has fundamentally solved the absence of commercial operation of Gwadar Port for more than 10 years after its completion, and greatly improved the shipping status of Gwadar Port in South Asia, media reported.
Chinese operated ports are not just about boosting the local economy and trade, but providing a substantive improvement to local living standards, creating new jobs and education opportunities.
Due to the dramatic changes that Gwadar Port has created for the region, some media have dubbed it the Shenzhen of Pakistan. As someone who has lived and worked in the area for years, Zhang believes that the port is worthy of the name.
“Just like Gwadar a few years ago,
Shenzhen Sh used to be an inconspicuous small fishing village... it is precisely because of good policies, a peaceful and stable social environment and the hard work of the people that it has realized today’s remarkable achievements,” Zhang said, extending his expectations for the future development of the port, especially in playing a bigger role in the international trade.
After nine years of development, Gwadar Port can not only handle port business such as bulk carriers and containers, but also link up business chains such as warehousing logistics and customs clearance services.
Zhang said that, in the future, his company will further develop the access to the sea for Central Asian countries, and build Gwadar Port into an important port for the transit trade of Central Asian inland countries.
The ‘ South Gate’ prevails
If Gwadar Port serves the transportation upgrade to the East, the Piraeus Port, another signature project under the BRI, in Greece strengthens the connection to the West.
The port of Piraeus is the largest port in Greece and is regarded as Europe’s “South Gate,” playing an increasingly pillar role in supporting trade between the East and the West.
Evangelos Kyriazopoulos, secretary general of Ports, Port Policy and Maritime Investments of the Greek Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, contributed the follow- up achievements the cumulative result of COSCO’s 1- billion- euro ($ 1.02 billion) investment in Piraeus Port since 2016.
Only four years after the signature of an MOU to build further on the BRI, Piraeus Port is now the leading port in the Mediterranean in terms of container transportation and the 5th in the EU, Kyriazopoulos said in a written interview with the Global Times.
On June 12, 2008, COSCO successfully won the bid for the privatization of the Piraeus Port Container Terminal in Greece, and obtained a 35- year franchise right for the terminal. The economic benefits of the terminal and its function as a major European port have gradually emerged.
Since COSCO began running the port, the increase in freight from the Far East has contributed to more than 80 percent of the port’s growth, according to media reports.
For the China- Europe route, this natural deep- water port is the geographically closest and most costeffective supply and transshipment hub for container ships after pass
ing through the Suez Canal.