Featured image: Unsplash / National Cancer Institute (representative image)
Gwadar’s development story has, for years, been told mainly through berths, dredging and ship traffic. A preparatory meeting held in Islamabad on August 25 ahead of the 9th Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting on Gwadar under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) suggests the next phase of planning is being pulled in a different direction – toward hospitals, fishing jetties and vocational colleges as much as toward the port itself.
Chaired by Planning Commission Secretary Dr. Muhammad Tahir Noor, the session brought together federal ministries and agencies alongside officials from the Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) and Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) to review progress across the full spread of CPEC-linked projects in the city – from the port and Free Zone to the new international airport, the East Bay Expressway and the city’s water supply.
A Preparatory Meeting With a Broader Agenda
Officials framed the discussion explicitly around the idea that CPEC’s Gwadar component was never meant to be a port-only project. Participants emphasized that the corridor’s benefits for the city should extend to modern urban amenities, healthcare, education, water supply and employment for residents, not just cargo throughput – part of the broader rationale that has kept Beijing committed to the port despite its still-modest shipping volumes.
That framing matters against a backdrop of persistent skepticism from Balochistan’s own political leadership, some of whom have pushed back on how federally-driven Gwadar’s planning has become, arguing that headline infrastructure has not always translated into local prosperity or basic services for the city’s residents.
Pak-China Friendship Hospital: From Clinic to 300-Bed Medical Hub
The single most significant new proposal to emerge from the meeting concerns healthcare. The Pak-China Friendship Hospital, currently managed by the Indus Hospital & Health Network, would be expanded to a capacity of 300 beds under the plan discussed. Officials also proposed attaching a medical college and a nursing college to the facility, aimed at building a local healthcare workforce rather than relying solely on staff posted in from elsewhere in Pakistan.
If it proceeds, the expansion would represent one of the more concrete efforts yet to address a long-standing complaint in Gwadar: that major investment has flowed into port and transport infrastructure while health and education facilities have lagged behind population growth in the city and surrounding coastal settlements.
A New Fish Harbor for West Bay’s Fishing Communities
The Director General of the Gwadar Development Authority also proposed developing a modern fish landing jetty, a fish harbor and a boat-building industry at West Bay, in the Padi Zir area. Fishing remains the primary livelihood for a large share of Gwadar’s original population, a community that has often felt sidelined by port-centric development and by security restrictions on coastal access.
Image: Unsplash / Joao (representative image)
A modern harbor and boat-building facility would sit alongside other recent efforts to formalize support for Gwadar’s fishing communities, including the Rs2.44 billion Fishermen Colony housing scheme approved for the area, which is creating nearly 3,000 new residential plots. Taken together, officials are positioning the two initiatives as a package aimed at giving fishing families both secure housing and upgraded working infrastructure.
Gwadar Free Zone Enters Phase II
On the industrial side, officials confirmed that Phase-I of the Gwadar Free Zone has been completed, with Phase-II now underway. The Free Zone is intended to be the commercial engine around the port, offering tax incentives to exporters and manufacturers who base operations in Gwadar rather than simply using it as a transit point.
Image: Unsplash / Julia Taubitz (representative image)
The meeting also reviewed progress on water supply and desalination plants serving the Free Zone and wider city, and on the Pak-China Technical and Vocational Institute, which is meant to train local residents for jobs the port and Free Zone are expected to generate – including skills tied to the Rs29 billion Mirani Dam water scheme already working its way through federal approval.
New Gwadar International Airport and the East Bay Expressway
Officials also took stock of the New Gwadar International Airport and the East Bay Expressway, two of the CPEC-linked projects most visible to residents day to day. The expressway connects the port and Free Zone to the rest of the city, while the airport – one of the larger airports in Pakistan by planned capacity – is meant to open Gwadar to direct commercial and cargo flights.
Image: Unsplash / Kelvin Zyteng (representative image)
Better air connectivity has already become a pocketbook issue for residents: a recent fare cut on domestic flights linking Gwadar to Karachi and Quetta underscored how much local demand exists for cheaper, more reliable travel in and out of the city, even before the new international airport is fully operational.
Why the Shift Beyond Port Operations Matters
The Gwadar Smart Port City Master Plan (2017-2050), which continues to guide land use and infrastructure decisions in the city, was designed from the outset to cover far more than the port itself. But in practice, port operations, dredging and shipping traffic have dominated public discussion of CPEC’s Gwadar component for much of the past decade.
The August 25 meeting is notable less for any single announcement than for the emphasis officials placed on framing hospitals, fishing infrastructure and vocational training as core CPEC deliverables rather than side projects. Whether that framing translates into funded, completed facilities on the ground – rather than proposals reviewed in another preparatory meeting – will depend on decisions still to come out of the 9th JWG meeting itself and the budget allocations that follow it.
What Happens Next
The preparatory session was explicitly billed as groundwork for the 9th JWG meeting on Gwadar, which officials said was expected to follow within the week. As of publication, no readout of that formal JWG session had been issued. Gwadar Post will report on its outcome, including any confirmed funding or timelines for the hospital expansion and West Bay fish harbor, once officials release details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 9th CPEC Joint Working Group meeting on Gwadar?
It is a periodic review meeting between Pakistani officials and CPEC counterparts covering the status of Gwadar-specific projects, including the port, Free Zone, airport, expressway and social infrastructure. The August 25, 2026 session in Islamabad was a preparatory meeting ahead of the 9th formal JWG session.
How many beds will the Pak-China Friendship Hospital have after the proposed expansion?
Officials discussed expanding the hospital, currently managed by the Indus Hospital & Health Network, to a 300-bed capacity, along with new medical and nursing colleges. This remains a proposal reviewed at the preparatory meeting rather than a confirmed, funded project.
Where will Gwadar’s new fish harbor be built?
The proposed fish landing jetty, harbor and boat-building facility would be located at West Bay, in the Padi Zir area of Gwadar.
Is the Gwadar Free Zone finished?
Phase-I of the Gwadar Free Zone has been completed. Phase-II, which expands the zone’s industrial and commercial capacity, is currently underway.
Does this meeting affect Gwadar’s flight schedules or airfares?
Not directly. The meeting reviewed progress on the New Gwadar International Airport, a separate long-term project from the recent domestic airfare cuts on routes to Karachi and Quetta.