Chinese Government provides RMB 1.54 billion grant for New Gwadar International Airport Construction Project

Project narrative

In January 2015, the Chinese Government announced that it would soon begin construction of the New Gwadar International Airport in Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan then allocated 3000 acres of land 26km to the northwest of the current Gwadar International Airport for the construction of the new airport. On May 13, 2017, the Chinese Government and the Government of Pakistan signed letters of exchange, which committed RMB 657 million (approximately $95.19 million) of grant funding for the construction of the New Gwadar International Airport. The Chinese Government subsequently upsized its grant commitment to $224 million (approximately RMB 1,545,893,719). Upon completion, the airport will reportedly be capable of handling a combination of ATR 72, Airbus A-380, Boeing B-737 and Boeing B-747 for domestic and international routes. Covering an area of 18 square km, the new airport will also be the second largest airport in Pakistan. The airport is located in Gurandani area, some 26 km northeast of Gwadar city of Balochistan province. The contractor responsible for project implementation is China Airport Construction Group Corporation (CACC). The groundbreaking ceremony for the New Gwadar International Airport took place on March 29, 2019. Construction then began on October 31, 2019. As of March 2022, the project had achieved a 26% completion rate. As of October 24, 2022, 49% of the work of the project had been completed. On July 23, 2023, Pakistan's Prime Minister officially inaugurated the completion of one component of the project (the runway, taxiway and apron -- or so-called 'airbase infrastructure'). As of October 2023, the runway, apron, contact road and the navigation aid lighting system of the flight area were complete and the project as a whole had achieved a 75% completion rate. Upon completion, the airport is expected to link Pakistan's fast-rising southwest Gwadar port city with the rest of the world. The project was originally expected to reach completion in March 2023. Its official inauguration date was scheduled for August 14, 2024. However, it was called off after an ethnic Baloch rights group started a sit-in protest. Then, in August 2024, separatist militants killed more than 70 people in a coordinated attacks across Balochistan Province. Following the attacks, two officials at Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and two others in the Balochistan provincial government announced that the start of flights at Gwadar International Airport would be delayed as authorities review security in the region. The project completion ceremony ultimately took place on October 14, 2024. The airport officially commenced operations on January 20, 2025.