The strategic port city of Gwadar on the south western tip of Pakistan is a vital part of the country’s future. The region is also important for other nations too, most notably China who, along with Pakistan, join forces in CPEC.
CPEC, or the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to give the organisation its full title, is responsible for wider projects between the two nations. These extend much deeper into Pakistan but there’s no doubt that Gwadar is the focal point. Meanwhile, the Gwadar Development Authority is on hand to knit much of this together.
What’s the Official Role of GDA?
The Gwadar Development Authority, commonly abbreviated to GDA, is a sector corporation working on behalf of the public and the government. It’s role is to provide and oversee the development of municipal facilities in Gwadar itself.
The GDA was officially formed in 2003 as a reaction to development work in Gwadar and it has been at the heart of significant projects ever since.
The Importance of Gwadar
To answer the question in more detail, it’s important to understand the importance of Gwadar as an emerging city. It was first labelled as a deep sea port with huge potential back in 1954 and within a short space of time, Pakistan had officially purchased Gwadar from Oman.
If we fast forward to the present day, Gwadar has been leased to China under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) agreement. The city is of vast importance to the Chinese due to its strategic location and significant development has been taking place here over the last ten years. It’s difficult to overstate just how important Gwadar is so what part does the GDA undertake in all this?
What exactly does the Gwadar Development Authority do?
While the GDA is a government body, all land in Gwadar is privately owned so the authority’s role is actually a managerial one and it does not devise or implement policy. The management tasks of the GDA therefore include:
- Monitoring all of the private and public schemes that are taking place in Gwadar and ensuring that the projects are on schedule.
- Managing the economic free zone that exists across Gwadar City and also the subsidized electricity that is supplied to Gwadar.
- Monitoring and managing the five roads that provide direct routes into other countries that are important to the location. These include Afghanistan, China and India plus other nations in Central Asia.
Finally, the Gwadar Development Authority is committed to seeing the city’s Master Plan come to fruition. This is the all-encompassing policy which will see Gwadar development continue through 2019 until it meets all requirements and objectives laid down by CPEC.
In summary, the GDA is not there to enforce but it plays a critical role in managing the many projects that are taking place in Gwadar while endeavouring to ensure that targets are met.