Oman to provide grant for Gwadar development
The Sultanate of Oman has pledged to provide a grant of US$45 million for development projects in Gwadar.
The Sultanate of Oman has pledged to provide a grant of US$45 million for development projects in Gwadar district of Balochistan. It has also promised to provide $20,000 for the repairs of the Gwadar fort and turning it into a museum.
The pledges were made by Omani Ambassador to Pakistan Muhammad bin Said Muhammad al Lawati during a recent meeting with Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani in Islamabad.
The grant will be used for various development projects in Gwadar district, including the construction of a 50-bed hospital in Pasni. Three more projects, among them laying of asphalted roads from Nagore Sharif to Suntsar (54km), Chib Rikani to Coastal Highway (15km), Nallaint to Kappar (7.3km) and Tak Village (Ormara) to Coastal Highway (11.3km), will also be undertaken.
A pipeline will be laid from Swali Gwarm to Pasni Town to provide clean drinking water to local residents. The Quetta Electricity Supply Company (Qesco) has been assigned the task of linking Pishukan, a tiny settlement on the Mekran coast, with the main grid supplying power from Iran to Gwadar and other parts of the district.
Chief Minister Raisani thanked the Sultanate of Oman for the assistance. The people of Balochistan, especially residents of Gwadar, have a long history of cultural and brotherly ties with their brethren in Oman, he added.
The chief minister also invited Omani investors to invest in Balochistan, especially in Mekran division, offering them incentives in different sectors.
The Omani ambassador said that another grant of US$20,000 has been set aside for turning the Gwadar Fort into a cultural museum. In the past, the fort used to be the residence of the Wali-e-Muscat.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2010.
The pledges were made by Omani Ambassador to Pakistan Muhammad bin Said Muhammad al Lawati during a recent meeting with Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani in Islamabad.
The grant will be used for various development projects in Gwadar district, including the construction of a 50-bed hospital in Pasni. Three more projects, among them laying of asphalted roads from Nagore Sharif to Suntsar (54km), Chib Rikani to Coastal Highway (15km), Nallaint to Kappar (7.3km) and Tak Village (Ormara) to Coastal Highway (11.3km), will also be undertaken.
A pipeline will be laid from Swali Gwarm to Pasni Town to provide clean drinking water to local residents. The Quetta Electricity Supply Company (Qesco) has been assigned the task of linking Pishukan, a tiny settlement on the Mekran coast, with the main grid supplying power from Iran to Gwadar and other parts of the district.
Chief Minister Raisani thanked the Sultanate of Oman for the assistance. The people of Balochistan, especially residents of Gwadar, have a long history of cultural and brotherly ties with their brethren in Oman, he added.
The chief minister also invited Omani investors to invest in Balochistan, especially in Mekran division, offering them incentives in different sectors.
The Omani ambassador said that another grant of US$20,000 has been set aside for turning the Gwadar Fort into a cultural museum. In the past, the fort used to be the residence of the Wali-e-Muscat.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2010.