Chinese Government provides RMB 89 million grant for Gwadar Sea Water Desalination Plant Project

Project narrative

On October 8, 2019, the Chinese Government and the Government of Pakistan signed letters of exchange, which committed RMB 89 million ($12.7 million) of grant funding for the Gwadar Sea Water Desalination Plant Project. The purpose of this project is to build a 1.2 MGD (million gallon per day) water desalination plant in Gwadar Free Zone to supply potable water to the residents of the 'Old City' area in Gwadar City. Upon completion, the plant is expected to provide 5,000 tons of fresh water per day to Gwadar residents and enterprises (in particular, those in the Old City area). The population of Gwadar City has not had reliable and sustainable access to drinking water for a long time. Their main source of water is Ankara Dam which due to frequent droughts is unable even to meet the drinking water requirements of the city’s population. The residents have been forced to buy sometimes expensive water for their daily consumption. The current water requirement of the Gwadar City is 4.2MGD per day while supply from the government source is 2.0 MGD. China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) is the EPC contractor responsible for project implementation. A project implementation agreement with China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) was signed on July 5, 2021. CHEC signed an EPC contract with the Government of Pakistan in February 2022. Then, a groundbreaking ceremony took place on June 3, 2022. The project was originally expected to reach completion within 12 months (June 3, 2023). However, as of June 2023, the project had only achieved an 80% physical completion rate. A completion ceremony for the plant was held on December 4, 2023.