Check Gwadar’s CPEC Projects: 7 Completed, 2 Under Construction, 5 Still in the Pipeline
The CPEC Secretariat lists 14 Gwadar projects with costs from US$4 million to US$542 million. See which are done, which are still being built and what to check.
The CPEC Secretariat lists 14 Gwadar projects: seven completed, two under construction and five in the pipeline. The biggest by cost is the proposed 300 MW coal power plant at US$542.32 million, followed by the free zone at US$300 million and the New Gwadar International Airport at US$230 million. The water projects are the ones residents feel first.
We read the CPEC Secretariat's Gwadar page and each project's detail page on 14 October 2026. The status labels are the Secretariat's own. The pages carry no dates for most updates, so we could not check what has changed on the ground since they were written. We did not visit Gwadar.
Seven Gwadar projects are listed as completed
The completed group is the port and free zone development, the Gwadar Smart Port City Master Plan, the Pak-China Technical and Vocational Institute, the Eastbay Expressway, the Pak-China Friendship Hospital, a 1.2 million gallon a day desalination plant and the New Gwadar International Airport.
"Completed" is the Secretariat's grouping. Some detail pages describe work that sounds unfinished. The hospital page, for example, describes a Phase II still to build most of its medical blocks. So read the label as a starting point and ask the executing agency for the current state.
| Project | Status | Cost on CPEC page | Financing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port and Free Zone development | Completed | US$300 million | Not stated |
| New Gwadar International Airport | Completed | US$230 million | Chinese government grant |
| Eastbay Expressway | Completed | US$179 million | Government interest-free loan |
| Pak-China Friendship Hospital | Completed | US$100 million | Chinese government grant |
| 1.2 MGD desalination plant | Completed | US$12.7 million | Chinese government grant |
| Technical and Vocational Institute | Completed | US$10 million | Chinese government grant |
| Water treatment and supply | Under construction | Rs 11.39 billion | PSDP |
| 5 MGD desalination plant | Under construction | Rs 5 billion | PSDP, 67% federal and 33% provincial |
| 300 MW coal power plant | In pipeline | US$542.32 million | Not stated |
| Breakwaters | In pipeline | US$123 million | Chinese concessional loan and grant mix |
| Dredging of berths and channels | In pipeline | US$27 million | PSDP, loan or grant |
The Eastbay Expressway and airport serve the port and the city
The Eastbay Expressway is a planned six-lane road with a 30 metre railway corridor. It links the port with the Makran Coastal Highway (N-20) through the 2,281 acre free zone. Today, the page says, port trucks pass through a narrow 16 feet strip in Gwadar town. The page lists 2,000 jobs for the expressway.
The New Gwadar International Airport sits at Gurandani, 26 km east of the city. The page says it is designed for aircraft from ATR 72 turboprops up to Boeing 747s, on domestic and international routes. It lists a cost of US$230 million, a Chinese government grant and 3,000 jobs.
Water is the two projects still under construction
Gwadar's long-running problem is water. The Secretariat lists two projects under construction. One is a water treatment, supply and distribution scheme costing Rs 11.39 billion. The page says a 158 km pipeline from the Shadi Kaur and Swad dams has been built, and says it solved the water shortage for residents of Gwadar town.
The other is a 5 million gallon a day desalination plant costing Rs 5 billion, split 67 per cent federal and 33 per cent provincial. Its page says demand is 7 million gallons a day and is forecast at 16.5 million in 2025. Since the forecast year has passed, a resident should ask the Gwadar Development Authority what the demand is now.
Five projects are still on the drawing board
The pipeline group holds the 300 MW imported coal plant, breakwaters, dredging, a fish landing jetty with a fishermen's boat-making industry on the West Bay, and a sanitation and landfill project. The coal plant is listed with China Communications Construction Company as sponsor and 1,000 construction jobs.
The breakwaters and dredging pages explain why they matter: new terminals need a protected harbour and a deeper channel. The dredging page says its feasibility study was completed in June 2023 and the PC-1, the government's project planning form, was still being prepared. The jetty and sanitation pages list only a location and the implementing agency.
Check a Gwadar project before you rely on it
- Open the project's detail page on the CPEC Secretariat site and note the status, cost and implementing agency.
- Ask that agency, such as the Gwadar Port Authority or the Gwadar Development Authority, for the latest progress report.
- For land or housing near a project, check that the project has a PC-1 or a signed agreement, not just a listing.
- For jobs, ask the executing company directly. Lists show job numbers, not hiring offices.
- Compare the Secretariat's figures with the federal development budget approvals, such as the ECNEC projects approved on 10 October, which included Gwadar water.
- Write down the page date you saw. These pages change without notice.
Gwadar sits inside a bigger China plan
Gwadar is the port end of CPEC. The May 2026 China-Pakistan statement kept it in the plan, as covered in CPEC 2.0. For people in the area who want training rather than headlines, the HEC's Coastal Region Scholarship covers Gwadar district.
Common questions about Gwadar CPEC projects
How many CPEC projects are in Gwadar?
The CPEC Secretariat lists 14: seven completed, two under construction and five in the pipeline.
Is the New Gwadar International Airport complete?
The CPEC page lists it among completed projects, with a cost of US$230 million and a Chinese government grant. It does not give flight details, so check with the Civil Aviation Authority for schedules.
What is being done about Gwadar's water shortage?
Two projects: a Rs 11.39 billion treatment and supply scheme, with a 158 km pipeline from two dams, and a Rs 5 billion, 5 MGD desalination plant. Both are listed as under construction.
When will the Gwadar coal power plant be built?
The page does not say. The 300 MW plant is in the pipeline group with a cost of US$542.32 million and no start date.
Who pays for the Gwadar projects?
It varies. The airport, hospital, vocational institute and the 1.2 MGD plant are listed as Chinese government grants. The water schemes are funded by Pakistan's federal development budget, with a provincial share for the 5 MGD plant.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked 14 October 2026. Project lists, status groups, costs, financing and locations come from the CPEC Secretariat Gwadar page and its detail pages. Several pages give no cost, date or progress note, and we left those blank rather than guess. We did not visit Gwadar and cannot confirm any physical progress.
About the author
Global Affairs & Political Economy Writer
Muhammad Hatim is a book lover who started writing because he enjoys it. At Pakistan Era he writes about international relations, geopolitics and the global economy, with a particular interest in South Asia and the forces behind current events.
