Gwadar district declared tax-free zone to attract investment

• Gwadar district will now be exempted from excise, services taxes.
• Senator Babar urges Centre to grant similar status to district.
• Similar status spurred development in port cities of Dubai, Singapore.

The Balochistan government has declared Gwadar district a tax-free zone in a bid to attract investment in the port city and urged the federal government to grant special economic status to the district.

The district will now be exempted from all provincial taxes including excise, services, and transfer of property, the provincial government said on Saturday.

Senator Kauda Babar hailing from Gwadar welcomed the provincial cabinet's decision to grant special economic status to the district.

The provincial cabinet fulfilled the long-standing demand by giving Gwadar the status of tax-free zone, he added.

He also called upon the federal government to grant similar status to exempt the district from federal taxes.

Senator Babar said the tax-free status will make the Gwadar port operational and attract investment.

The similar status, he said, spurred development in the port cities of Dubai and Singapore.

The senator said the establishment of industry in Gwadar will provide employment to millions of people and earn foreign exchange for the country.

The deep seaport of Gwadar, a crucial component of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), has a special strategic significance as a facility not simply ensuring Pak-China connectivity but hyperlinking Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East, making it a center of future economic activities.

The development under CPEC aims to transform Gwadar into a major trade and economic hub, facilitating regional connectivity and enhancing Pakistan’s maritime trade. The port’s potential to become an energy and transport corridor, coupled with its strategic location, makes it a focal point for international investment and economic cooperation, driving economic growth and regional integration.

The other ongoing projects in Gwadar include Gwadar Free Zone North (Phase 11), the Gwadar Safe City Project, three electricity projects, the Gwadar Smart Port City Master Plan, the Gwadar Tourism Project, New management model of Pak-China Technical and Vocational Institute (PCT & VI), State of Art Shipyard Project, Oil Refinery project, Green Gwadar Project, Pak-China Friendship Hospital, fisher community projects, Gwadar Port dredging project, Export-oriented projects, Fishing industry, Warehouse industry and Gwadar Huafa Exhibition and Trading Center.