New Gwadar Airport Unused Amid Insurgency

The New Gwadar International Airport, a $240 million project entirely financed by China and completed in October 2024, remains unopened with no passengers or planes. Located in Pakistan — Gwadar, Pakistan — Balochistan, Pakistan, the airport is part of the larger China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multibillion-dollar initiative connecting China's Xinjiang province with the Arabian Sea. Despite official claims of transformation, local residents in Pakistan — Gwadar report scant evidence of change, lacking basic amenities like clean water and reliable electricity. International relations expert Azeem Khalid suggests the airport is primarily for China's secure access to the region. The CPEC has fueled a decades-long insurgency in resource-rich Pakistan — Balochistan, with separatists targeting Pakistani troops and Chinese workers. Local Baloch people claim discrimination and lack of opportunities, leading to increased military presence by Pakistan in Pakistan — Gwadar to protect Chinese investments. Security concerns, exacerbated by militant groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army and the Pakistani Taliban's ceasefire termination, delayed the airport's inauguration, which was eventually held virtually by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese counterpart Li Qiang. Abdul Ghafoor Hoth, a local political leader, highlighted the lack of local employment at the airport and organized protests over living conditions, with little progress on promised improvements.