Land allocation begins for $10 bln Saudi Aramco refinery in Gwadar

February 18, 2020: Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) director-general Shahzeb Khan Kakar said the upcoming oil city project in Gwadar was going to host a multibillion-dollar Saudi Aramco refinery.

“The land allocation process for the oil refinery is underway with the provincial government’s revenue department in Quetta,” Kakar said.

He expressed hope the process of land allocation for the $10-billion Saudi oil refinery project and a $1-billion petrochemical complex would be completed within a couple of months.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed seven investment deals worth $21 billion during last year’s visit of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. The deals included the Aramco refinery.

The refinery has a proposed refining capacity of between 250,000 bpd to 300,000 bpd.

Kakar said he envisioned Gwadar as a smart seaport, like Dubai or Singapore. Most of the major issues the city had faced, like water supply, electricity, and security have been resolved, he was quoted as saying by Arab News.

“All hurdles in the way of Gwadar’s development have been removed and the city will be a future Singapore … By 2050, Gwadar’s economic turnover will reach $30 billion and per capita income is expected to be $15,000,” Kakar added.

Gwadar is at the heart of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, under which China is investing $60 billion in Pakistan’s energy sector and infrastructure.

APP