Gwadar Development Authority has acquired 750 acres of land for the next phase of the Eastbay Motorway. The project will have a direct link from the New Gwadar International Airport to Gwadar Port. Land acquisition took effect last week as part of the Gwadar Master Plan. The government is financing the process under the Public Sector Development Program 2026-27.
Key Highlights
- GDA acquires 750 acres for Gwadar Eastbay Motorway Phase-II Project with an estimated cost of Rs30.13 billion
- 95 percent of the funding under CPEC will be in the form of Chinese grant-in-aid
- China Harbor Engineering Company will do the construction
- New road stretches 13.8 kilometers, connecting airport to port directly
- A project of Rs30 billion funded from CPEC funds
It’s not a new idea. The 8th Joint Working Group on Gwadar approved the project in 2025. The federal government has already allocated Rs200 million for the current year’s PSDP to kick-start the work. The Rs30.13 billion mega project is part of a bigger picture, and 95 percent of it will come through Chinese grant-in-aid under the CPEC. When construction starts, China Harbor Engineering Company will build it.
What the New Road Will Be Like
Phase II comprises 13.8 km of six-lane dual carriageway with four paved lanes. It will connect New Gwadar International Airport directly with the existing Eastbay Motorway, providing a direct line from the airport to the port that currently does not exist. That is an enormous shortcut for cargo between the two.
The project is not simply a length of road. Plans include a toll plaza, drainage, lighting, fencing and security towers – the kind of supporting infrastructure that turns a highway into one built for sustained commercial use rather than mere connectivity.
Why It Matters for Gwadar’s Logistics
Once completed, the new road will change how cargo moves through Gwadar. Faster transfers between the airport and port mean fewer bottlenecks and, in theory, quicker turnaround of goods in and out of the region. This is all part of a bigger objective, officials say: to make Gwadar a serious regional logistics and economic hub under CPEC, instead of just a port city with promise.
Phase I: What We Have Already Accomplished
Phase II is not standalone. “It’s an extension of work that is already seeing results. The first phase of Eastbay Motorway opened on June 3, 2022. The 19-kilometer-long six-lane road is presently the main link between Gwadar Port, its Free Zones, Makran Coastal Highway and Motorway-8. Phase I cost $168 million and now processes a steady stream of import, export, and transit cargo. It also connects Gwadar with the western corridor of CPEC, till the Khunjerab border.
By combining the two phases, you have a more integrated transport network that ties the airport, the port and Gwadar’s broader road links into one working system. Assuming that Phase II sticks to its schedule and budget, it should be a major boost to trade connectivity via Gwadar and an important part of the city’s long-term development as the logistics hub that CPEC planners have envisioned for years.
