Gwadar Port is the greatest asset and investment pinnacle in the Pak-China initiative of CPEC and the ambitions to revive the old Silk Route and use it to access the markets of Asia, linking them with the markets of Africa, Europe and the Middle East. However, lack of effective internet speed is thwarting these plans and emerging as a big hurdle in realising China’s ambitions in Pakistan. 

The Pakistani authorities have been unable to fully address the challenges associated with reliable and effective internet speed, and it continues to work ineffectively and less than capacity. China is now at the very of losing business due to this problem. 

In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg, Dostain Khan Jamaldini, the Chairman Gwadar Port Authority, spoke about the inability of the custom authority in overcoming the challenges of internet speed. Even though the Chinese installed a wireless system to provide the project with a reliable alternative for restoring internet services, this wireless system has also been prone to bandwidth limitations. 

Jamaldini reports that the customs authority online system is battling various delays because of slow internet and unreliable connectivity. He shared, 
“About four cargoes of seafood go daily from here to Karachi, referring to the jetty next to the port where customs clearance is done manually. We are not proactive, we are reactive. It’s a systematic flaw.”

Authorities have inaugurated the use of a fibre optic cable that will connect Rawalpindi to Khunjerab, and the design of laying down this fibre optic cable is to achieve the aim of connecting Pakistan to China, and creating a direct link between East Asia, Middle East and Pakistan. This fibre optic cable will also be extended towards Gwadar, which will fully complete the connection between Pakistan and China, and put an end to all the internet challenges that are hurdling the success of the flagship port. 

This fibre optic cable stretching from Gwadar to Khunjerab is very ambitious information and communication technology project under the umbrella of the CPEC, and this programme is in its earliest stage. This cable stretches over 820 km and features 26 microwave transmission nodes starting from Rawalpindi to Karimabad, and then extending 171 km of aerial fibre cable from Karimabad to Khunjerab. 

The project has an estimated total cost of $44 million, and the Exim Bank of China has provided 85% of the loan at discounted rates. Huawei and SCO have been chosen to carry out the engineering procurement and construction (ECP) of this project.