ISLAMABAD, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that the New Gwadar International Airport in the country's southwest Balochistan province will unlock immense economic opportunities for Pakistan, an official statement said.
Chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet here, Sharif said that the world-class airport aided by China has a great potential to transform the country into a commercial hub by facilitating trade and investment.
The airport is a 4F-grade state-of-the-art facility to handle the largest civil aircraft. Its 3,658-meter-long, 75-meter-wide runway, with specialized foundation treatment, sets a benchmark in engineering standards.
The construction of the airport started in 2019 and was completed in 2024. It has been officially handed over to the Pakistani side.
Addressing previous connectivity challenges, the airport will enable modern airlines to serve Gwadar, enhancing regional economic growth and positioning Gwadar as a transshipment hub linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The prime minister also underscored the need for export-led growth to achieve the goal of economic development and expressed satisfaction with the stability achieved so far due to the government's commitment to further boost the economy.
He said that the country's remittances have reached 15 billion U.S. dollars in the first five months of the current fiscal year, adding that they are expected to hit a historic 35-billion-U.S.-dollar mark by the end of the financial year in July if the current trend persists.
Launched in 2013, CPEC, a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, is a corridor linking the Gwadar Port with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.■