Is Gwadar the new Dubai?

My most read post on LinkedIn was when I stated that Slough was the most successful town in the UK, in the 5th biggest economy in the world.

Were my claims reasonable? was there any basis for such a claim? Putting my qualification to do so to one side. Slough was the most productive town in the UK (yes we can have an academic debate about why and how but it is a fact) It is host to the 2nd most important data infrastructure in the world. Yes the world.

Slough has hosted some of the worlds biggest companies. The former CEO of Amazon once described Slough as the sweet spot between London and Reading for recruiting the very best people. Slough's success owed much to a vision and an investment made around a 100 years ago after the first world war and a global pandemic. That company is now the UK's most successful commercial property company Segro. The Slough population a 100 years ago was around 3,000. Now it is 160,000

"According to the latest Centre for Cities 2019 Cities Outlook report, Slough has been the most productive town in the UK, with its GVA per worker standing at a staggering ￡82,000, compared with the British average of ￡57,000 and even the London average of ￡80,000. Slough really is a thriving commercial hub on the cusp of London’s commuter belt"

As assistant director for economic development for Slough my interest was in making things tangibly different for the lives of individuals socially, economically and environmentally. In 1995 after we emerged from a deep recession we were also transitioning from being a manufacturing powerhouse to the new service industries, the knowledge economy, IT, telecommunications, business services, creative industries, biotech, data and advanced logistics.

So while we were creating the industries of the future, that transition left many people behind. Now 25 years later many of our local population from working class backgrounds from ethnic minority backgrounds are working in those new industries, the world moves on. Some are in Dubai, or USA, even China or Malaysia. The skills follow the jobs. There is always a lag.

At the same time manufacturing shifted to lower cost countries such as Eastern Europe or the far east, China, South Korea, India, Pakistan. Land and labour are the highest fixed costs and the UK could not compete with the Asian tigers.

That brings us on to Gwadar in Pakistan . Gwadar Port is situated on the shores of the?Arabian Sea?in the city of?Gwadar, located in the Pakistani province of?Balochistan. The port is located 533?km from Pakistan's largest city,?Karachi, and is approximately 120?km from the Iranian border. It is located 380?km (240?mi) away from?Oman, and near key oil shipping lanes from the?Persian Gulf. The greater surrounding region is home to around two-thirds of the world's proven?oil reserves. It is also the nearest warm-water seaport to the landlocked Western China but also hydrocarbon rich,?Central Asian Republics as well.

Gwadar is the second deepest natural sea port after Singapore. So that means it can host the super ships that require a minimum of 14.5 metres depth. In the future dredging will take it to a depth of 20 metres. This means that the biggest of ships can berth close to the land without double handling. Gwadar currently has 23 berths but has plans to go to 126 as needed.

Of course all of that information on its own isn't going to make a difference without context. So let me to try and bring some context. China is firmly established as the manufacturing capital of the world. Its land, labour and advanced technology and the worlds insatiable appetite for consumption of cheaper products that drive the global economy is set fair for some decades ahead .

China knows that communication and trade links are key to staying competitive and ahead of the game. Enter its $900 billion Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which is a global infrastructure strategy of the Chinese to which 245 countries are already party to. That's simply about efficient logistics and having the capital to leverage the co-operation of countries across the world.

$62 billion dollars of that is invested in Pakistan, in roads, rail, power stations, airport, seaport, special economic and tax free zones. China has a huge stake in its neighbour Pakistan.

"The benefit to China of being able to transport its goods via Gwadar and Pakistan to the Arabian sea and to its lucrative Middle East and African markets reduces travel time for its freight from 44 days to a staggering 7 days."

The new Gwadar Smart City Master plan 2017 to 2050 sets out a clear plan to grow the population from its current 150,000 to 2 million. Its designation as a free port and special economic zone means that business that invests there will be exempt from tax for 23 years.

The new Gwadar International airport due to complete in 2023 will accelerate demand for land as for the first time investors and others will be able to visit directly in larger planes. It is just one hour flight time from Dubai

China has built new cities like shelling peas, its expertise and it's self interest will help to achieve the lofty ambitions for Gwadar of Pakistan and China. Gwadar might not have the oil that benefited Dubai has but it does have the potential to be an important economic hub driven by the movement of goods from the worlds most important manufacturing country the world has ever seen.

Gwadar is in Balochistan which represents 43% of the land mass of Pakistan but only 4% of the total population of Pakistan. Pakistan's population growth will gravitate to Gwadar and wider Balochistan as infrastructure and business settle, expand and grow.

No doubt like all great and ambitious projects the journey and progress is not a straight line to success. However, the acceleration of Gwadar and CPEC since 2019 despite the last two years of the Covid19 pandemic reminds me of another place much misrepresented often unloved but still delivering the dreams of many generations of people from all walks of life. My beloved Slough.

After 60 years of living here and loving it and as I hit retirement age. I am now on another adventure advocating Broadway City in Gwadar a place just along the coastline of Karachi where I was born in 1956. I am a bit of a dreamer. I know that. But it is dreams that make nations and they reflect the love the pain and aspirations for a better world we all yearn for, for all people of the world.

Broadway City is a 165 acre icon of modern living in the heart of the new smart city of Gwadar. Located in the Central Boulevard and offering 1774 plots of residential and commercial land among tree lined avenues and landscaped gardens and parks it promises to be the premium development in Gwadar. Designed by Zavia one of Pakistan's leading architects and developed by Milestone Properties and NK Corporation in partnership with Broadway City UK

Take a look and dream. Broadway City - Gwadar

www.broadwaycity.co.uk

Whether you can envision Gwadar as the next Dubai or not it all starts in the eye of the beholder.

Rafiq Chohan is the former Chair of Chief Economic Development Officers Society for England (CEDOS) and former Assistant Director for Economic Development for Slough. ex Chairman of the Slough Community Partnership, ex Chair of the Active communities fund for Sport South East England and former business adviser at the Berkshire Growth Hub in the Thames Valley. He is a former board member of the Pakistan British Trade Investment Forum

Broadway City UK and International HQ is located in Slough in the modern aptly named Future Works building next to Slough bus and train station.