No passengers, no planes, no benefits. Pak’s newest airport is bit of a mystery

Gwadar (Pakistan): With no passengers and no planes, Pakistan’s newest and most expensive airport is a bit of a mystery. Entirely financed by China to the tune of USD 240 million, it’s anyone’s guess when New Gwadar International Airport will open for business.

Located in the coastal city of Gwadar and completed in October 2024, the airport is a stark contrast to the impoverished, restive southwestern Balochistan province around it. For the past decade, China has poured money into Balochistan and Gwadar as part of a multibillion dollar project that connects its western Xinjiang province with the Arabian Sea, called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC.

Authorities have hailed it as transformational but there’s scant evidence of change in Gwadar. The city isn’t connected to the national grid — electricity comes from neighboring Iran or solar panels — and there isn’t enough clean water.

An airport with a 400,000 passenger capacity isn’t a priority for the city’s

90,000 people.

“This airport is not for Pakistan or Gwadar,” said Azeem Khalid, an international relations expert who specializes in Pakistan-China ties. “It is for China, so they can have secure access for their citizens to Gwadar and Balochistan.”

Caught between militants and the military

CPEC has catalysed a decadeslong insurgency in resource-rich and strategically located Balochistan. Separatists, aggrieved by what they say is state exploitation at the expense of locals, are fighting for independence — targeting both Pakistani troops and Chinese workers in the province and elsewhere.

Members of Pakistan’s ethnic Baloch minority say they face discrimination by the government and are denied opportunities available elsewhere in the country, charges the government denies. Pakistan, keen to protect China’s investments, has stepped up its military footprint in Gwadar to combat dissent.

The city is a jumble of checkpoints, barbed wire, troops, barricades, and watchtowers. Roads close at any given time, several days a week, to permit the safe passage of Chinese workers and Pakistani VIPs.

Gwadar locals see little benefit from China’s CPEC, with jobs scarce and heavy security stoking resentment. Many residents recall better times before water shortages and economic struggles.

Protests erupted over poor living conditions but yielded no progress. Security concerns delayed the airport’s inauguration, and locals were excluded from jobs. Rising militancy and government crackdowns fuel tensions.