Pakistan and China have kicked off their ambitious 46 billion US Dollar CPEC Project or China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project with Beijing acquiring over 2,000 acres of land in restive Balochistan to develop the strategic Gwadar port. The two countries have signed a deal to give the usage right of the land to a Chinese company. India has already objected to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as it passes through the Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that the port development is a mutually beneficial project. It is a major project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, (CPEC). China defends the project saying it is a commercial venture aimed at improving livelihoods of local people. China is expected to invest USD 1.62 billion in the Gwadar project, including construction of an expressway linking the harbour and coastline, a rail link, breakwater and other nine projects expected to be completed in three to five years.

The 43-year lease will see the government of Baluchistan province in southwestern Pakistan provide a 923-hectare swathe of tax-exempt land as part of the CEPC which links western China to the Arabian Sea. The contract will enable state-owned China Overseas Port Holding Co Ltd, to build an international airport, a free trade area, and a maritime service company in the port with full authority to handle the port’s operations.