Gwadar is a coastal town in the district of Gwadar, in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is located 650 km by road towards the west of Karachi. The population of the town is almost 100,000.

Gwadar is located on the southwestern coast of Pakistan, close to the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, through which more than 13 million bbl/d of oil passes. It is strategically located between three increasingly important regions of the world: the oil-rich Middle East, heavily populated South Asia and the economically emerging and resource-rich Central Asia.

The Government of Pakistan has initiated several projects with financial and technical assistance from China, to develop Gwadar's strategic location as a major shipping transit and trade point. The primary project is the construction of the Gwadar deep-sea port to enable high-volume cargo movement to and from the landlocked Central Asian states. The new port will also encompass conversion facilities to allow for the movement of natural gas as part of a planned termination point for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan natural gas pipeline (few other pipelines are also under consideration). Gwadar will also serve as a port of entry for oil, gas and other trade shipments, to be transported by land to the western provinces of China.

HISTORY
The Makran region surrounding Gwadar was occupied by unknown Bronze age people who settled in the few oases. It later became the Gedrosia region of the Achaemenid Persian empire. The region is believed to have been conquered by the founder of the Persian empire, Cyrus the Great. The capital of the satrapy Gedrosia was Pura, thought to have been located near modern Bampur, in modern Iranian Balochistan. During the homeward march of Alexander the Great, his admiral Nearchus led a fleet along the modern Makran coast and recorded that the area was dry and mountainous, inhabited by the Ichthyophagoi or Fish eaters - a Greek rendering of the ancient Persian phrase Mahi khoran, which has become the modern word Makran.

After the collapse of Alexander's empire, the area was ruled by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander’s generals, but the region came under local rule about 303 BC. For several centuries, the region remained at the sidelines of history, until the Muslim Arab army under Muhammad bin Qasim captured the town of Gwadar in 711 AD. In the following centuries the area was contested between various Iranian and Indian based powers including the Mughals and the Safavids.

Portuguese explorers captured and sacked Gwadar in the late 16th century. This was followed by centuries of local rule by various Baloch tribes. In 1783 the Khan of Kalat granted Gwadar to Taimur Sultan, the defeated ruler of Muscat. When Taimur recaptured Muscat, he continued to rule Gwadar by appointing a wali or governor. The new governor was ordered to conquer the nearby coastal town of Chah Bahar (in modern Iran). Gwadar fort was built during Omani rule, whilst telegraph lines were extended into Gwadar courtesy of the British. In 1958, the Gwadar enclave was transferred to Pakistan and was made part of Balochistan province.

In 2002, Gwadar Port project to build a large deep-sea port was begun in the town. The government of Pakistan intends to develop the entire area in order to reduce reliance on Karachi for shipping. In addition to expanding port facilities, the project aims to build industrial complexes in the area, and to connect the town via a modern highway to the rest of Pakistan. The People's Republic of China is providing help on the project, and the first phase was completed by the end of 2004.

CULTURE
Gwadar's location and history have given it a unique blend of inhabitants. The Arab influence on Gwadar is strong due to Omani rule and the close proximity of Arab regions. The presence of the Omani slave trade is felt in the town with people descended from African slaves who passed through the town. The area also has remarkable religious diversity, being home to Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Qadianis, Parsis and other minor Islamic sects. Among the most important religious sects is the Zikri sect, a faith that about half of Gwadar's inhabitants claim to follow.

TRANSPORTATION

Gwadar is located on the Arabian Sea close to the entrance of the Persian Gulf, about 460 kilometres west of Karachi. In 1993, Pakistan started feasibility studies for the development of a major deepwater seaport at Gwadar. The port project commenced on 22 March 2002 with the first phase completed in December 2005.

The construction of the port has spurred other major infrastructure projects in the area. This includes the 700-km Makran Coastal Highway which is now complete. The road links Karachi with several ports along the coast including Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar and will be extended to the Iranian border in the future. The highway has reduced travel time to Karachi from 48 hours to only 7 hours. Other road projects include the Gwadar-Quetta-Chaman road which is due for completion in 2006 and a roadlink to the town of Khuzdar in eastern Balochistan. There are also plans for a terminal for passenger ships.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan has earmarked 3000 acres of land for a new airport which will be built 26kms away to the northeast of the existing airport towards Pasni and is likely to cost between $200-250 million. The new airport will be given international status and operate under the open sky policy. In the meantime there are plans to improve facilities at the existing airport.

Chairman of Dubai Ports World, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, who met President Pervez Musharraf on May 5th 2006, expressed a strong hope for management of facilities at the strategic Gwadar deep sea port and development of infrastructure in the southern port city and elsewhere in Pakistan.

In 2006, Ministry of Railways announced that Gwadar will be connected to Pakistan Railways network at a cost of $ 1.25 billion (Rs. 75-billion).