Management handover of Gwadar port begins (2)

Pakistan hopes that the Chinese company’s investment in the port will help the country support its economy, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said last month.

But India fears that the port could be used by the Chinese navy to jostle for geo-strategic power in the region, The Express Tribune reported on Friday. "In one sentence, it is a matter of concern for us," Indian Defense Minister A K Antony said earlier this month. "My answer is very straightforward and simple."

Fazul-ul-Rehman, former director of the China Studies Center at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, dismissed Indian concerns but he said China has become more cautious about big investment projects in Pakistan due to security concerns, AFP reported.

Pakistan expects the port to be a hub for trade and economic activities in the sparsely populated but resource rich region and to create jobs.

China will hardly see profits from the port in the short term due to chronic problems such as inadequate infrastructure and land requisition, said Hu Shisheng, an expert on South Asian studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

In the near future, China needs to revive the port by investing in infrastructure construction and help Pakistan to independently develop the region, he said.

"To address security issues, China has to bring the local people into the project and let them actually benefit from it," Hu said. China has been working on at least 120 different projects in the South Asian country, while security was the responsibility of the Pakistan government, Liu said. The ambassador said Gwadar port will play an important role in Pakistan’s economic development.