The recently expanded Gwadar deep water port in Pakistan that is part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is almost finished, the operator said on Tuesday (Reuters). "The port cranes are almost ready, and we are thinking that the port will be (at) full operation by the end of this year," said Zhang Baozhong, chairman and CEO of China Overseas Ports Holding Company Ltd. The port will process about one million tons of cargo next year, most of which will be incoming construction materials to be used in projects related to CPEC.
Pakistan’s army chief accused regional rival India on Tuesday of attempting to undermine the $46 billion project with China (Reuters). Speaking at a development conference on the impact of CPEC, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Raheel Sharif stated, “I must highlight that India, our immediate neighbor, has openly challenged this development initiative…I would like to make a special reference to Indian intelligence agency RAW that is blatantly involved in destabilizing Pakistan. Let me make it clear that we will not allow anyone to create impediments and turbulence in any part of Pakistan." Indian authorities have not commented on the matter.