A massive airport with a capacity of 400,000 passengers stands entirely empty with not one person or plane in sight. Located in the middle of the desert in Pakistan, the New Gwadar International Airport was completed in October 2024 and cost a whopping £179 million to build. The airport was entirely funded by China.
Not only is it the country’s most expensive airport but it is also its largest stretching over 4,300 acres of land. However, months after its completion, it remains lifeless with no flights, no planes, and no passengers at all.
Azeem Khalid, an international relations expert who specialises in Pakistan-China ties, told AP: “This airport is not for Pakistan or Gwadar.
“It is for China, so they can have secure access for their citizens to Gwadar and Balochistan.”
For over ten years, China has invested heavily in the southwestern city of Gwadar as part of its ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative, aiming to link its western Xinjiang region with the Arabian Sea via Gwadar port.
Gwadar, a city in the troubled Balochistan province faces several issues as the city relies on electricity imports from Iran or solar panels due to lack of connection to Pakistan’s national grid, and access to clean water remains scarce.
Security concerns delayed the airport’s opening, which was marked by a private ceremony with no public flights.
Locals feel excluded from the benefits of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects, including the airport, where not a single resident has reportedly been employed.
Frustrated by poor living conditions and lack of employment, residents staged large protests late last year, also protesting against the exploitation of natural resources. Although authorities promised improvements in water, electricity, and jobs, progress has reportedly been slow or nonexistent.
The FCDO also currently advises against all travel to the Balochistan Province due to the “extremely tense situation” at the Pakistan-Iran border.
