Gwadar Port has been an endpoint of the CPEC. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

By Staff Reporters

The Chinese-aided New Gwadar International Airport project in Pakistan, a key project under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is part of a modern transportation network covering the sea, land and air in the region.

It is located 26 kilometers northeast of Gwadar Port that is an endpoint of the CPEC. The new Gwadar International Airport covers an area of about 18 km2 and will be the largest civil airport in Pakistan. It also has the potential of benefiting Central Asia, providing the landlocked countries access to international markets through a combination of sea and land routes.

Work under tough conditions

Construction of the airport, which broke ground in 2019, has been arduous. The construction team of the China Railway Group (CRG) had to overcome high temperatures that could reach 55。C, shortage of clean water and other challenges.

Project manager Dai Chunzhuang said it has been so hard in the past three years, many young Chinese workers had been recruited. When they arrived in Pakistan, they had to deal with the high temperature, low oxygen levels, shortage of clean water resources, as well as other life inconveniences.

To tackle the high temperature, for example, the project team scheduled carefully the timeslots of the construction process. They insisted that they should stay on-site every night for two hours and check project progress at the end of each month to ensure all targets were completed well.

In addition, the team had to be ready for floods, the COVID-19 pandemic and even terrorist attacks.

Ou Xiaobing, in charge of purchasing, price negotiations and construction material transportation, said the challenges brought their own reward: "Although life here is challenging… I accumulated a lot of valuable experience and practical knowledge. You grow quickly under pressure."

Dai Chunzhuang left China in September 2020. In these three years, he went back home only once to see his family members.

Commended for quality work

The construction of the airport has received strong support from the Pakistani government, which includes providing three transmission lines to continuously supply power to the airport, and actively cooperate with opening the human resources training course for training airport personnel.

The Chinese efforts went beyond the realm of project work. In 2022, when Pakistan encountered torrential rains that triggered devastating floods, the project team donated relief materials to the local people.

Due to the quality of cooperative work, the project team has been commended by the Chinese Consulate General in Karachi, Pakistan’s financial center, and received the honorary title of "Outstanding Camp for Overseas Projects" in 2021.