Gwadar port: an international port once a fishing village
《一带一路报道》 记者 彭纳
已恢复运营的瓜达尔港口 中国港控供图
“2013年，我们刚来的时候，码头基本处于报废状态。”站在瓜达尔港港口，望向海的另一端，只有一条分不清是海还是天的海平面，别企图在这里寻找到海的尽头。码头上屹立着五台崭新的岸桥像守望者一般，等待着远航渡轮的归来。此时，远方的鸣笛声惊起了岸边的飞鸟，一艘货轮正从海上的一个黑点由远及近慢慢逼近码头，最终，货轮在两艘小船的推动下缓缓靠岸，与此同时，岸桥在一声“低吼”后苏醒过来，放下高扬的“臂膀”，准确地找到需要卸载的货物，动作干净利落。
港口船只正在卸货 李卉嫔/摄
海天之际，瓜达尔国际码头有限公司总经理助理王万超口中那个报废码头的影子已不复存在。说起瓜达尔港，他拥有太多的头衔。2014年2月，他被列为促进中巴“一带一路”合作的旗舰项目。3个月后，习近平主席会见时任巴基斯坦总统的侯赛因时再度提出，中巴经济走廊建设是“一带一路”合作的重要组成部分，瓜达尔港是当前应该重点落实好的项目之一。2015年，习近平主席对巴基斯坦进行历史性访问，全面擘画中巴“1+4”合作布局，瓜达尔港成为四大重点之一。6年时间，沧海桑田，这里发生着怎样的变化？投资潜力到底有多大？区域经济带动作用是否形成？所有问题的答案，都藏在港口这一湾蔚蓝的海水之中。
“When we came here in 2013, the wharf was almost out of operation.” When standing at the port of Gwadar and looking into the other side of the sea, you could only see a horizon which prevents you from telling the boundary between the sea and the sky. Don’t try to find the end of the sea here. Five brand-new quay cranes were standing on the wharf, waiting for the return of ferry boats from afar like watchmen. At this moment, birds on the coast were frightened by the noise of the horn from distance, and a freighter was approaching the wharf slowly. Finally, it was drawn to the shore by two small boats. At the same time, the quay cranes were “awaken” by a growl, laying down their “arms” high in the air and accurately spotting the freight to be unloaded, smoothly and efficiently.
At this place, that deserted wharf described by Wang Wanchao, General Manager’s Assistant of Gwadar International Wharf Co., Ltd., has long gone. The Gwadar Port has so many titles. In February 2014, it was listed as a flagship project in the China-Pakistan Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. Three months later, when meeting with the then Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain, Chinese President Xi Jinping indicated again that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was an important part of the Belt and Road cooperation, and Gwadar Port was one of the key projects at that time. In 2015, President Xi Jinping paid a historic visit to Pakistan and comprehensively described the “1+4” cooperation structure, in which Gwadar Port became one of the four priorities. Six years has passed by, and brings great changes to it. Specifically, what are the changes here? How about the potential for investment? Has it become a driver of local economy? Answers to all these questions are in the azure sea of the port.
当飞机进入瓜达尔上空，从舷窗向下望，满眼黄沙，像给大地铺上了一层金黄的幕布。很难想象在这样一片土地上，能开发出一个国际港口，直到汽车绕过隔离带一样的黄色土山，蔚蓝的大海乍现眼前，让人不禁惊呼。
When the plane was above Gwadar, you can see through the porthole that the land below was covered by yellow sands, like a golden curtain. It’s hard to imagine the development of an international port here, until the car bypassed yellow mountains which were like isolation strips and the azure sea emerged in front of you, which made you surprised.
俯瞰瓜达尔港码头
从地图上看，瓜达尔港的整个形态好似一把锤子，锤头外端是阿拉伯海，锤头内端便形成了天然深水不冻港，再加上港口距全球供应石油的主要通道霍尔木兹海峡仅400公里，优越的地理位置让这里被誉为印度洋咽喉要地。然而，港口的开发仍然困难重重。
We can see that in the map, the shape of Gwadar Port is like a hammer, the outer end of the hammer head is the Arabian Sea, and the inner end is a natural deep-water ice-free port. In addition, it is only 400km to the Strait of Hormuz, the main passage of global oil supply. Favorable geographic location makes Gwadar Port a strategic junction in the Indian Ocean.
难点一：在2013年中国海外港口控股有限公司（以下简称“中国港控”）来到这里前，由新加坡运营的港口却没能成功发展起来。“港口是2003年由中国交建修建，2007年完工后交付新加坡公司运营，但在他们运营的6年时间里，这里并没有得到很好的商业开发。”王万超告诉记者，这有公司自身发展的原因，也有很大一部分外在因素。
瓜达尔港对比图
First，before China Overseas Ports Holding Company Limited (COPHC) came here in 2013, the port operated by a Singaporean company didn’t develop successfully. “The port was built by CCCC in 2003, and delivered to a Singaporean company for operation after the completion of construction in 2007. However, during the six years operated by that company, the commercial development here was poor.” Wang Wanchao told the reporter that while the development of that company accounted for part of it, external factors were also an important reason.
难点二：港口发展的决定性因素在于其腹地经济的开发程度，然而，瓜达尔港所在的俾路支省虽然占巴基斯坦国土面积约43%，但其GDP却只占巴国的约3%，“这里的主要产业是渔业，几乎没有工业。”虽然港口地理位置有一定优势，但限制其发展的因素也尤为明显。
Second, the deciding factor for the development of a port is the development level of its hinterland economy. However, Balochistan province, where Gwadar Port is, only contributed 3% of Pakistan’s GDP while occupying 43% of its land. “The leading industry here is fishery, and there was almost no industry.” Although the port enjoyed some geographical advantages, the factors limiting its development were evident.
【六年变化】
如同文章开头所说，中国港控在2013年来到这片土地时，目之所及都是荒芜，运行了6年之久的码头也破败得不像样，“除了码头本身能用以外，就连仅有的两座岸桥和几台门机都没法用。”不仅如此，港口唯一能够提供淡水的海水淡化厂也已经无法工作，“那时，我们用的水就跟当地人一样，严重缺水时，还曾动用海军给这一地区的百姓送水。”回忆起建设之初的难，瓜达尔港自由区有限公司副总经理胡耀宗忍不住感慨。
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, when COPHC arrived here in 2013, what they could see was a deserted scene, even the wharf which had been in operation for six years was very dilapidated. “Except for that the wharf was available for operation, the only two quay cranes and several portal cranes couldn’t work.” Moreover, the desalination plant, the only source of fresh water at the port, was also out of operation. “At that time, the water we used was the same as that of the locals. When there was a severe lack of water, the navy was employed to divert water for the people.” When recalling the difficulties at the beginning of construction, Hu Yaozong, Vice General Manager of Gwadar Port Free Zone Co., Ltd., couldn’t help but sighed.
一切的一切都百废待兴。从2013年开始，这里的机械声就没断过，如今，5台岸桥已经巍然海边，65000平方米的堆场已经投入使用，44万加仑/天的海水淡化系统为整个港口甚至瓜达尔市提供着生活用水。数据显示，截至2018年底，中国港控先后投入资金近5000万美元，用于港口设施的更新改造。经过几年奋战，码头终于在2017年全面恢复运营，现在，码头可以同时容纳两艘5万吨级的船舶，并有效地处理散货，集装箱和滚装货物。2018年，另外一个好消息传来，3月7日，瓜达尔港的集装箱班轮服务正式启动。该航线被命名为“巴基斯坦瓜达尔中东快线”，由中远海运集运经营，将杰贝阿里、卡拉奇和阿布扎比作为中转港，依托中远海运集运的十多条国际航线，为全球客户提供进出瓜达尔港的航运服务。
瓜达尔港码头可以同时容纳两艘5万吨级的船舶
There’s a lot to be done. From 2013 on, the noises made by machineries here never stop. Now five quay cranes are standing by the shore, and the 65,000 square meters storage yard has been put into operation, the desalination system with a capacity of 440,000 galons per day is providing domestic water to the whole port and the city of Gwadar. According to statistics, by the end of 2018, COPHC has invested USD 50 million in the upgrade and transformation of the port’s facilities. After several years of hard work, the wharf recovered its full operation in 2017. Now the wharf can accommodate two 50,000-ton ships at the same time, and effectively handle bulk cargo, containers and ro-ro cargo. Another piece of good news came in 2018. On March 7, the regular container ship service of Gwadar Port was officially launched. This ship route was named as “Pakistan Gwadar – Mid East Express”. Operated by COSCO Shipping Lines, this route takes Jebel Ali, Karachi and Abu Dhabi as ports of transshipment, and relies on over 10 international ship routes of COSCO Shipping Lines to provide customers all over the world with shipping services from and to Gwadar Port.
【但腹地经济的根本问题不解决，港口发展依旧受限。于是，自造一个腹地经济的想法被提了出来。
However, the development of the port would still be restricted if the problem of hinterland economy remained. Therefore, the idea of creating a hinterland economy was proposed.】
【自造腹地经济】
瓜达尔自由区大门
当中国港控完成对港口改造后，便开始着手建设瓜达尔自由区的工作，在2016年至2017年，一年多的时间里，整个港口变化可谓翻天覆地，一栋栋厂房从无到有；水、电、通讯等基础设施在这期间相继投入运行，2018年1月29日，瓜达尔自由区（南部区）正式开园。占地面积923公顷的自由区将分为两个阶段建设，第一阶段为南部商贸物流区；第二阶段为北部加工制造区。
When COPHC completed the transformation of the port, it started the construction of Gwadar Free Zone. During about one year from 2016 to 2017, the port witnessed huge changes with buildings built from scratches one after another; infrastructures such as water, electricity and telecommunications were put into operation successively during this period. On January 29th, 2018, Gwadar Free Zone (Southern Zone) was officially opened. The construction of this 923-hectare free zone will be divided into two phases which are the Trade and Logistics Zone in the South and the Processing and Manufacturing Zone in the North respectively.
自由区的发展除了依托基础建设和园区规划外，另一大要素来自于政策上的优惠，这是吸引企业来此产生集群效应最行之有效的方法。
In addition to infrastructures and the planningof the zone, another driver of the development of the free zone is preferentialpolicies, which is the most effective way to attract enterprises here togenerate cluster effects.
【瓜达尔自由区优惠政策】
1. 拥有23年免税期
2. 99年租赁权
3. 100%外资所有
4. 园区内一站式服务
胡耀宗特别指出：“自由区这个概念对于巴方来说，是一个非常新鲜的概念。”正因如此，巴方在政策的优惠上慎之又慎。自由区为了给企业提供最大的方便，把国内已经非常成熟的一站式服务带了过来，“如今海关、联邦税务局、国家银行和俾路支商会已经在瓜港挂牌上班，未来，还将有更多的部门在这里办公，我们不敢保证入园企业最快几天办完手续，但会尽最大努力减省企业落地办理的过程。”胡耀宗真诚地表达。
Hu Yaozong pointed out, “Our Free Zone provides a tax holiday of 23 years, leasehold of 99 years, 100% foreign ownership, and one-stop services in the zone.” Some of these superiorities are not available in other free zones, “The concept of Free Zone is very new in Pakistan”. Therefore, they are very cautious in terms of preferential policies. In order to maximize the convenience provided to enterprises, the Free Zone has brought the developed one-stop services in Pakistan here. “Now the Customs, the Federal Board of Revenue, the National Bank and the Balochistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Pakistan have already opened their branches in Gwadar Port. In the future, there will be more departments working here. We can’t promise in how many days enterprises settled in the zone would finish the procedures, but we are doing our best to reduce the process of settlement,” Hu Yaozong said sincerely.
瓜达尔自由区设计图
8月11日传来的消息，一直悬而未决的对自由区入园企业的税收优惠政策在经过反复论证后，终于在当天落了地，这个消息无疑是重大利好。
According to the news delivered on August 11, preferential tax policies for enterprises in the free zone, which had been a pending issue, was implemented on that day after repeated discussions and arguments. This is definitely good news.
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编辑：向雯 实习生 程滢杰
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