Gwadar Port (Urdu: گوادر بندرگاه ‎; IPA: gʷɑːd̪əɾ bənd̪əɾgɑː) is a warm-water, deep-sea port situated on the Arabian Sea at Gwadar inBalochistan province of Pakistan. The port features prominently in the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) plan, and is considered to be a crucial link between the ambitious One Belt, One Road and Maritime Silk Road projects.^[1]

Gwadar's potential to be a deep water sea port was first noted in 1954, while the city was still under Omani suzerainty.^[2] Plans for construction of the port were not realised until 2007, when the port was inaugurated by Parvez Musharraf after four years of construction, at a cost of $248 million.^[3]

In 2015, it was announced that the city and port would be further developed under CPEC at a cost of $1.62 billion,^[4] with the aim of linking northern Pakistan and western China to the deep water seaport.^[5] The port will also be the site of a floating liquefied natural gas facility that will be built as part of the larger $2.5 billion Gwadar-Nawabshah segment of the Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline project.^[6] Construction began in June 2016 on the Gwadar Special Economic Zone, which is being built on 2,292 acre site adjacent to Gwadar's port.^[7] In late 2015, the port was officially leased to China for 43 years, until 2059.^[8]

Gwadar port became fully operational on 14 November 2016 and was inaugurated by Pakistan's Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif & Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif.^[9]