Pakistan postpones opening of $250 million China-funded airport over security fears

Aug. 23, 2024, 5:54 p.m.

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Pakistan has delayed the opening of the nearly $250 million China-funded New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA) due to security concerns.

According to a Nikkei Asia report, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was scheduled to attend the inauguration of the New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA), located near a port that is a key component of the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

However, the planned opening on August 14 - Pakistan’s Independence Day - was abruptly delayed following mass protests earlier this month that paralysed Gwadar, the city where the airport is located.

Advertisement No new opening date has been announced for the $246 million project, which was initiated following a grant agreement with Beijing in 2015.

“All the required work and prerequisite arrangements on [the New Gwadar] airport have been completed and it’s ready for flight operations,” Nikkei Asia quoted a government official familiar with the matter as saying.

The inauguration of the New Gwadar International Airport has been postponed again, following a previous delay last year, due to concerns about low flight demand amidst ongoing militant attacks and separatist unrest.

The single-runway airport, located 45 kilometers from the Chinese-controlled Gwadar port, spans 4,300 acres and can accommodate large aircraft like the Airbus A380, making it Pakistan’s largest airport by size, surpassing Islamabad’s airport.

Gwadar's ambitions to become a major transportation hub have been met with limited success, with only three weekly flights to a smaller nearby airport from Karachi, many of which are canceled.

Despite the anticipation of direct flights from Chinese airlines, analysts are skeptical about a significant surge in demand, according to Nikkei Asia.

“The inauguration of NGIA is symbolic in nature because it is not commercially viable for any airline in the short term,” Afsar Malik, an expert in airline economics, was quoted as saying.

Pakistani governments have consistently promoted the multibillion-dollar investment with China as a catalyst for transforming Gwadar into the next Singapore.

However, on Monday, the prime minister ordered that half of all government sea cargo, originally slated for Karachi, be rerouted to Gwadar’s port, underscoring its underutilisation.

There are concerns that Gwadar’s new transport hub may become a white elephant, akin to Sri Lanka’s Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, which is often labeled the “world’s emptiest international airport” due to sparse flight activity.

Advertisement “Vanity projects are not new for the Chinese, they have built similar projects back home which have limited use,” Nikkei Asia quoted Mohammad Shoaib, an assistant professor at Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, as saying.

“The Chinese are biding their time and the NGIA can be of use once Gwadar kicks off. … In the meantime, NGIA and old Gwadar airport can be used by other support missions from China,” Shoaib added.

Protests erupted in Gwadar this month, led by groups demanding fundamental rights for the people of Balochistan, the region where the Chinese-funded port is situated.

Beijing has become increasingly wary about investing in Pakistan following a series of deadly attacks on its citizens. The country faces a surge in militant activity from both Islamist groups and separatists in Balochistan.

Advertisement Islamabad, already battling a struggling economy, has pledged to enhance security for workers and launch new anti-terrorism operations. Despite hopes that the new airport will attract more Chinese investment, skepticism remains about its impact on the largely impoverished local population.