Balochistan PA rejects port at Sonmiani

[Neo]

Friday, May 25, 2007

Balochistan PA rejects port at Sonmiani

By Malik Siraj Akbar

QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly on Thursday unanimously rejected President General Pervez Musharraf’s recent announcement that a new port would be constructed in the Sonmiani area of Lasbela district, terming it “another effort by the federal government to capture the Baloch coast and resources”.

The treasury and opposition benches in the Balochistan Assembly jointly rejected the government’s plans to construct another port. Speakers maintained that the port in Sonmiani was intended as an extension of Karachi and meant to divide Balochistan. They termed it part of a plan to convert the majority Baloch population into a minority.

Minister Maulana Abdul Wasey of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) said the project would only be a waste of resources. “There is a US hand behind the government plans to sabotage the Gwadar Port before it is formally functional because the Chinese presence is unacceptable to the US,” he added.

Deputy Speaker Mohammad Aslam Bhuthani, a PML-Q MPA from Lasbela, regretted that the government had sold 568,000 acres of land in Soniami for the port at one rupee per acre.

Speakers urged the federal government to respect and abide by the recommendations of the Balochistan Assembly. In the past, they said, the government had shunned Balochistan Assembly resolutions; just last month the government went ahead with the construction of a cantonment in Sui despite the passage of a unanimous resolution against the construction of military cantonments in the province.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\25\story_25-5-2007_pg1_3

 

[Neo]

The Balochistan Assembly on Thursday unanimously rejected President General Pervez Musharraf’s recent announcement that a new port would be constructed in the Sonmiani area of Lasbela district, terming it “another effort by the federal government to capture the Baloch coast and resources”.

What a load of crap, whats wrong with all these mullah's. Do they want development and prosperity or not??
Damned if we do it damned if we don't!

 

[Bull]

The motion that was passed is direct instance of they defying the rule of Islamabad.Whats the significance of this?

Does GOP require their permission to construct a port?

 

[Awesome]

The motion that was passed is direct instance of they defying the rule of Islamabad.Whats the significance of this?

Does GOP require their permission to construct a port?

Obviously... The motion can be re-raised after the elections if the situation is different. The government should play up this as blocking the balochi progress to wrest more control by the next elections.

Our elections are rarely smart elections. In American every city has its own electoral issues on which elections are fought on. Our politicians fight a party based election.

Why is there a need for more ports? All the focus should be on Gwadar to help ONE city grow.

 

[Bull]

Why is there a need for more ports? All the focus should be on Gwadar to help ONE city grow.

You shud answer that. Why are you asking me??? Its your govt after all

 

[Awesome]

It's directed at everyone, not you. You can answer it too if you like.

 

[Neo]

The motion that was passed is direct instance of they defying the rule of Islamabad.Whats the significance of this?

Balochistan is an atonomy with local government but it can not defy central rule from the central government.

You see, the BA is still influenced by local landlords who've always resisited development in the region coz it will free the enslaved and poor population. They'l do or say anything to malign central government.
Today Balochistan is getting highest stake of development funds, GoP has raised royalty stakes of Sui gas and other resources and still they're whining about exploitation of their resources.
Infrastructure will bring properity to the region, not only to Islamabad!!

Does GOP require their permission to construct a port?

If Islamabad wants to build that 4th port we'll move forth with it.

 

[Bull]

Why hasnt the gwadar started functioning yet? or has it?

 

[Neo]

Why is there a need for more ports? All the focus should be on Gwadar to help ONE city grow.

To enhance regional devlopment you need to build infrastructure and create several nucleus industrial and trade cells and interlink them. This is the oldest and best way to give first and direct benefits to locals als value is added by every transaction between these cells.
Make them supportive aswell as competitive against eachother to add quality and you'll get a mini economic boom.

 

[Neo]

Why hasnt the gwadar started functioning yet? or has it?

It has, inaugrated on March 23rd this year but all the media attention was on the JF-17's then.

 

[Awesome]

Yeap Mar 23rd!

Remember the deal went to Singapore instead of Dubai? But then the JF-17 thing happened and the Chief Justice thing too.

I like to read more on that networking concept...

 

[Neo]

New Pakistani Port Draws Mixed Reviews
May 12th - 1:52pm

Pakistani artisans prepare new boat for fishing on the beach of Gwadar, about 700 kilometers (435 miles) west of Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, March 20, 2007. By the azure waters of the Arabian Sea, a remote Pakistani fishing town is being transformed into a massive deep sea port that promises quicker passage for Chinese exports to the Middle East and beyond. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)
China-India ties have improved lately, but are still strained because the two sides fought a war in 1962 over their border.

China, which has long-standing ties with Pakistan, has financed $198 million of the total cost of $248 million to build the port, with the rest covered by the Pakistan government.

State-owned China Harbor Engineering Company did most of the port construction, bringing in 350 Chinese engineers, technicians and other skilled workers. With most of the port construction complete, only a few Chinese workers now remain in Gwadar.

Much of the transport infrastructure needed to link Gwadar with Pakistan's northern neighbor is yet to be built, but potentially, it will nearly halve the overland distance from China's landlocked western provinces to the sea: from about 2,500 miles to China's east coast, to just 1,250 miles south to Gwadar.

The first stage of a 280-mile road is under construction that would eventually link this southwestern tip of Pakistan with the country's north-south Indus Highway, facilitating overland transport from Gwadar toward China.

The link road should be complete within five years, says Ahmed Baksh Lahri, chief of the Gwadar Development Authority.

It will still be a tough drive: passing along the Karakorum Highway that winds through the rugged mountains of northern Pakistan and crossing into Xinjiang province via a border crossing point at 15,397 feet. The route is often blocked by snow in winter.

Longer-term plans also call for road and rail links from Gwadar that would pass through strife-torn Afghanistan to Central Asian states.

In March, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf presided over the ceremonial inauguration of the port, although officials say it will be several more months before the three shipping berths open for business.

Singapore's PSA International Pte Ltd. last year won a bid to operate the port for 40 years, and the government has exempted it from corporate tax and all import duties on equipment and machinery. China did not bid to operate the port.

Khurram Abbas, the chief of PSA's operation in Gwadar, said PSA plans to invest between $5 billion to $8 billion over the 40-year period. He forecast the port would generate revenues of between $17 billion and $31 billion during that time.

http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=185&pid=&sid=1139306&page=2

 

[Neo]

Gwadar-Makran Coastal Highway

The Makran Coastal Highway is located primarily in Balochistan, Pakistan. It follows the Arabian Sea coast from Karachi to Gwadar.

Previously there was a muddy track linking Karachi with the town of Gwadar. Journeys between the two could take several days as the safest route was to travel via Quetta. The journey time has now been reduced to six or seven hours with the construction of the new Makran Coastal Highway (National Highway N10). The highway was built as part of an overall plan to improve transport facilities in southern Balochistan; other parts of the plan include the new seaport and international airport at Gwadar and the construction of a road linking Gwadar to Khuzdar.

In the coastal areas of Balochistan, the main livelihood is fishing. The catch could not be sold in Karachi because the fish would rot by the time they reached Karachi. However, the new highway has improved people's livelihoods by giving them the opportunity to sell fish in major markets in Karachi.

Completion of this highway has open up the area exposing all business opportunities in Gawadar and on Makran coast to the international investors. It is certainly going to attract new townships and settlements of international investors, tourists, and workforce coming from distant lands. The Makran coastal highway also links Karachi with Iran and, thus, opens a new and shorter trade route between the two countries. Gaining access to the more lucrative but landlocked central Asian markets via Iran and Afghanistan is also on the cards.

http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgu...?q=gwadar+coastal+highway&svnum=10&um=1&hl=nl

View attachment 13d4b4aeb21fc01ffd0c772edaa43698.jpg

 

[Neo]

 

[Neo]

Sonmiani would be a great help for karachi and the industrial state of Bela, it has a natural harbor and a beautiful coastline.
It would be an ideal location to raise a new city a la Dubal on the peninsular.

Map: