瓜達爾港：漁村里“走出”的國際港

彭納

“2013年，我們剛來的時候，碼頭基本處于報廢狀態。”站在瓜達爾港港口，望向海的另一端，只有一條分不清是海還是天的海平面，別企圖在這里尋找到海的盡頭。碼頭上屹立著五臺嶄新的岸橋像守望者一般，等待著遠航渡輪的歸來。此時，遠方的鳴笛聲驚起了岸邊的飛鳥，一艘貨輪正從海上的一個黑點由遠及近慢慢逼近碼頭，最終，貨輪在兩艘小船的推動下緩緩靠岸，與此同時，岸橋在一聲“低吼”后蘇醒過來，放下高揚的“臂膀”，準確地找到需要卸載的貨物，動作干凈利落。

海天之際，瓜達爾國際碼頭有限公司總經理助理王萬超口中那個報廢碼頭的影子已不復存在。說起瓜達爾港，他擁有太多的頭銜。2014年2月，他被列為促進中巴“一帶一路”合作的旗艦項目。3個月后，習近平主席會見時任巴基斯坦總統的侯賽因時再度提出，中巴經濟走廊建設是“一帶一路”合作的重要組成部分，瓜達爾港是當前應該重點落實好的項目之一。2015年，習近平主席對巴基斯坦進行歷史性訪問，全面擘畫中巴“1+4”合作布局，瓜達爾港成為四大重點之一。6年時間，滄海桑田，這里發生著怎樣的變化？投資潛力到底有多大？區域經濟帶動作用是否形成？所有問題的答案，都藏在港口這一灣蔚藍的海水之中。

當飛機進入瓜達爾上空，從舷窗向下望，滿眼黃沙，像給大地鋪上了一層金黃的幕布。很難想象在這樣一片土地上，能開發出一個國際港口，直到汽車繞過隔離帶一樣的黃色土山，蔚藍的大海乍現眼前，讓人不禁驚呼。

從地圖上看，瓜達爾港的整個形態好似一把錘子，錘頭外端是阿拉伯海，錘頭內端便形成了天然深水不凍港，再加上港口距全球供應石油的主要通道霍爾木茲海峽僅400公里，優越的地理位置讓這里被譽為印度洋咽喉要地。

然而，在2013年中國海外港口控股有限公司（以下簡稱“中國港控”）來到這里前，由新加坡運營的港口卻沒能成功發展起來。“港口是2003年由中國交建修建，2007年完工后交付新加坡公司運營，但在他們運營的6年時間里，這里并沒有得到很好的商業開發。”究其原因，王萬超告訴記者，這有公司自身發展的原因，也有很大一部分外在因素。

眾所周知，港口發展的決定性因素在于其腹地經濟的開發程度，然而，瓜達爾港所在的俾路支省雖然占巴基斯坦國土面積約43%，但其GDP卻只占巴國的約3%，“這里的主要產業是漁業，幾乎沒有工業。”雖然港口地理位置有一定優勢，但限制其發展的因素也尤為明顯。

同樣的困局也擺在了中國港控面前，但在解決這個問題之前，他們還需要解決另一個大麻煩。

如同文章開頭所說，中國港控在2013年來到這片土地時，目之所及都是荒蕪，運行了6年之久的碼頭也破敗得不像樣，“除了碼頭本身能用以外，就連僅有的兩座岸橋和幾臺門機都沒法用。”不僅如此，港口唯一能夠提供淡水的海水淡化廠也已經無法工作，“那時，我們用的水就跟當地人一樣，嚴重缺水時，還曾動用海軍給這一地區的百姓送水。”回憶起建設之初的難，瓜達爾港自由區有限公司副總經理胡耀宗忍不住感慨。

一切的一切都百廢待興。從2013年開始，這里的機械聲就沒斷過，如今，5臺岸橋已經巍然海邊，65000平方米的堆場已經投入使用，44萬加侖/天的海水淡化系統為整個港口甚至瓜達爾市提供著生活用水。數據顯示，截至2018年底，中國港控先后投入資金近5000萬美元，用于港口設施的更新改造。經過幾年奮戰，碼頭終于在2017年全面恢復運營，現在，碼頭可以同時容納兩艘5萬噸級的船舶，并有效地處理散貨，集裝箱和滾裝貨物。 2018年，另外一個好消息傳來，3月7日，瓜達爾港的集裝箱班輪服務正式啟動。該航線被命名為“巴基斯坦瓜達爾中東快線”，由中遠海運集運經營，將杰貝阿里、卡拉奇和阿布扎比作為中轉港，依托中遠海運集運的十多條國際航線，為全球客戶提供進出瓜達爾港的航運服務。

但腹地經濟的根本問題不解決，港口發展依舊受限。于是，自造一個腹地經濟的想法被提了出來。

在飛往瓜達爾港的航班上，一名中國女性吸引了我們的注意，聊起才知道，這位只身前往港口的陳艷萍是代表公司來考察，準備在瓜達爾港開設海外分公司。“這已經不是我們公司第一次來這里考察了，這次來是具體了解公司落地相關手續的。”被問起為何會選擇瓜達爾港時，她告訴記者，“我們公司是做咨詢服務的，目前越來越多的中國企業準備入駐港口，相應的咨詢服務業務也會隨之增加。”像陳艷萍所在公司一樣，準備搶灘瓜達爾港的公司還有很多，中國臨沂商城海外投資（巴基斯坦）有限公司（以下簡稱“臨沂商城”）就是其中之一。

孫大龍是臨沂商城在瓜達爾港的負責人，一年多前來到瓜港就一直沒離開過。在談起公司落地這里時，他顯露出了山東人特有的耿直，“到瓜達爾港設立公司，第一，是看中港口和自由區提供的優惠政策；第二，等過幾年，港口發展完善后，大量公司會涌入，等那時再進入巴基斯坦市場我們可能就錯過了最佳時機。”

這個山東漢子提到的自由區便是打造腹地經濟尤為重要的一個環節。當中國港控完成對港口改造后，便開始著手建設瓜達爾自由區的工作，在2016年至2017年，一年多的時間里，整個港口變化可謂翻天覆地，一棟棟廠房從無到有；水、電、通訊等基礎設施在這期間相繼投入運行，2018年1月29日，瓜達爾自由區（南部區）正式開園。占地面積923公頃的自由區將分為兩個階段建設，第一階段為南部商貿物流區；第二階段為北部加工制造區。

自由區的發展除了依托基礎建設和園區規劃外，另一大要素來自于政策上的優惠，這是吸引企業來此產生集群效應最行之有效的方法。胡耀宗特別指出：“我們的自由區擁有23年免稅期、99年租賃權、100%外資所有等政策，還包括園區內的一站式服務。”這些優勢中，有的是別的自由區不具備的，“自由區這個概念對于巴方來說，是一個非常新鮮的概念。”正因如此，巴方在政策的優惠上慎之又慎。自由區為了給企業提供最大的方便，把國內已經非常成熟的一站式服務帶了過來，“如今海關、聯邦稅務局、國家銀行和俾路支商會已經在瓜港掛牌上班，未來，還將有更多的部門在這里辦公，我們不敢保證入園企業最快幾天辦完手續，但會盡最大努力減省企業落地辦理的過程。”胡耀宗真誠地表達。

8月11日傳來的消息，一直懸而未決的對自由區入園企業的稅收優惠政策在經過反復論證后，終于在當天落了地，這個消息無疑是重大利好。

對于最早一批來此扎根的企業來說，他們的成長幾乎與園區的成長同頻。

聊起這個話題，孫大龍的話匣子一下被打開。臨沂市與瓜達爾市本就是友好城市，“我們參加了幾乎所有巴基斯坦舉行的展銷會，發現了巴市場的需求，這邊對于墻紙、電視墻玻璃的需求量非常大。”基于此情況，公司專門組織巴方企業與臨沂的相關生產企業取得聯系，打開了雙方的新市場。“這就是我所說的時機，巴基斯坦是一個巨大的市場，需要我們扎根在這里深入開發。”

無獨有偶，臨沂跨國采購經濟發展有限公司的董事長孔軍這幾天也專程來到瓜達爾港考察，“我們也是臨沂商城下的一個部門，負責進口貿易。”孔軍看好的是巴基斯坦的芒果生意，“我國的芒果市場巨大，而巴基斯坦芒果在世界上都享有盛譽。”在孔軍看來，瓜達爾港是一個潛力巨大的投資地，“這里地理位置優越不說，一旦企業的集聚效應產生，再加上瓜達爾港新機場、東灣快速路以及300兆瓦燃煤電廠的落地，這里的發展無可限量。”

當記者問起港口對瓜達爾市甚至俾路支省的區域經濟輻射效應時，胡耀宗表示，在港口落地的幾年間，瓜達爾市正悄悄發生著變化。

就職于中國港控的達龍，是瓜達爾本地人，對于這里的變化，他最有感觸，“以前，瓜達爾只是個小漁村，大多數人靠打漁為生，如今，許多人在港口謀得了一份工作，收入也高了許多。”中國港控另一位職員坦言，剛剛到這里時，當地人基本都用“老年機”，現在幾乎人手一部智能手機，這就是最大的變化。胡耀宗也談起他自己體會到的變化，“4年前我剛到這里時，從卡拉奇進港口的航班是一周一班，現在已經基本是一天一班，遇到重大活動時一天兩班。”

生活細節在變化，而幾場大型活動的舉辦則像蝴蝶扇動的翅膀，帶來的效應也在慢慢發酵。2018年9月28日，中國港控和瓜達爾港務局共同舉辦了首屆瓜達爾大理石、石材展銷會以及俾路支省經濟發展論壇；3月28日，第二屆瓜達爾國際商品展銷會成功舉辦，中國駐巴基斯坦姚敬大使，巴基斯坦總理伊姆蘭·汗以及部分政府官員出席展會活動。來自200余家參展商、約10000多名采購商參加展會。2018年10月29日至30日，亞洲議會聯盟大會在瓜達爾召開。會上，與會各國和多家國際機構在各領域達成共識，并通過多個審議草案。

此外，中國港控也立足民生，8月7日，位于自由區一角的羊舍正式落成，作為羊場負責人的港控自由區公司行政經理賈幸福，在工作之余也當起了“羊倌”。隨著羊叫聲逐漸靠近，頭戴紅花的羊群出現在視野里，這19只羊，率先住進了嶄新的羊舍。“我們與瓜達爾市簽訂了扶貧協議，由政府選定14戶貧困戶進入羊場工作。”通過三期的建設，未來，預計達到10000只羊，“這里75%的家庭從事漁業，畜牧業還停留在最原始的放養狀態。”通過扶貧幫貧，瓜達爾市的畜牧業也許將誕生在這5000平米的羊舍里。

另一個改變瓜達爾的計劃更加長遠，將綠植種遍瓜達爾。說起這個，胡耀宗不斷重復著兩個字“難啊”。但到底有多難，在園區里負責綠植的育林控股有限公司的王瑞磊道出了其中艱辛，從2016年5月到達這里開始，他就帶領著團隊不斷試驗，“我們從國內帶來的柳樹、蘋果樹都無法存活。”因為園區土地是填造出來的，鹽含量過高，加上這一地區本來就荒涼，試驗一直失敗，“就拿現在園區里能看到的草地來說，別看這些小草不起眼，但種植這些小草花費了我們兩年的時間。”在試驗了幾十個品種的植物后，團隊終于收獲了成功，瓜達爾港從荒漠變成了“花園港口”。為此，中國港控專門設立了瓜達爾百萬造林項目。不僅如此，園區恢復的淡水處理廠將從現在向瓜達爾市提供30萬加侖/天的水提升至150萬加侖/天。另外，中國港控還與中國和平發展基金會共同建設中巴法曲爾中學……

6年時間是瓜達爾港交出的一份優異的成績單，對未來，他們還有著清晰的發展路徑和努力方向，下一個6年，我們期待著他“金榜題名”。

“When we came here in 2013， the wharf was almost out of operation.” When standing at the port of Gwadar and looking into the other side of the sea， you could only see a horizon which prevents you from telling the boundary between the sea and the sky. Don’t try to find the end of the sea here. Five brand-new quay cranes were standing on the wharf， waiting for the return of ferry boats from afar like watchmen. At this moment， birds on the coast were frightened by the noise of the horn from distance， and a freighter was approaching the wharf slowly. Finally， it was drawn to the shore by two small boats. At the same time， the quay cranes were “awaken”by a growl， laying down their “arms” high in the air and accurately spotting the freight to be unloaded， smoothly and efficiently.

At this place， that deserted wharf described by Wang Wanchao， General Manager’s Assistant of Gwadar International Wharf Co.， Ltd.， has long gone. The Gwadar Port has so many titles. In February 2014， it was listed as a flagship project in the China-Pakistan Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. Three months later， when meeting with the then Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain， Chinese President Xi Jinping indicated again that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was an important part of the Belt and Road cooperation， and Gwadar Port was one of the key projects at that time. In 2015， President Xi Jinping paid a historic visit to Pakistan and comprehensively described the “1+4” cooperation structure， in which Gwadar Port became one of the four priorities. Six years has passed by， and brings great changes to it. Specifically， what are the changes here？ How about the potential for investment？ Has it become a driver of local economy？ Answers to all these questions are in the azure sea of the port.

When the plane was above Gwadar， you can see through the porthole that the land below was covered by yellow sands， like a golden curtain. It’s hard to imagine the development of an international port here， until the car bypassed yellow mountains which were like isolation strips and the azure sea emerged in front of you， which made you surprised.

We can see that in the map， the shape of Gwadar Port is like a hammer， the outer end of the hammer head is the Arabian Sea， and the inner end is a natural deep-water ice-free port. In addition， it is only 400km to the Strait of Hormuz， the main passage of global oil supply. Favorable geographic location makes Gwadar Port a strategic junction in the Indian Ocean.

However， before China Overseas Ports Holding Company Limited （COPHC） came here in 2013， the port operated by a Singaporean company didn’t develop successfully. “The port was built by CCCC in 2003， and delivered to a Singaporean company for operation after the completion of construction in 2007. However， during the six years operated by that company， the commercial development here was poor.” As for the reason， Wang Wanchao told the reporter that while the development of that company accounted for part of it， external factors were also an important reason.

As we all know， the deciding factor for the development of a port is the development level of its hinterland economy. However， Balochistan province， where Gwadar Port is， only contributed 3% of Pakistan’s GDP while occupying 43% of its land. “The leading industry here is fishery， and there was almost no industry.” Although the port enjoyed some geographical advantages， the factors limiting its development were evident.

COPHC encountered the same dilemma. However， before solving this problem， they still needed to solve another big trouble.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article， when COPHC arrived here in 2013， what they could see was a deserted scene， even the wharf which had been in operation for six years was very dilapidated.“Except for that the wharf was available for operation， the only two quay cranes and several portal cranes couldn’t work.” Moreover， the desalination plant， the only source of fresh water at the port， was also out of operation. “At that time， the water we used was the same as that of the locals. When there was a severe lack of water， the navy was employed to divert water for the people.” When recalling the difficulties at the beginning of construction， Hu Yaozong， Vice General Manager of Gwadar Port Free Zone Co.， Ltd.， couldn’t help but sighed.

There’s a lot to be done. From 2013 on， the noises made by machineries here never stop. Now five quay cranes are standing by the shore， and the 65，000m2 storage yard has been put into operation， the desalination system with a capacity of 440，000 galons per day is providing domestic water to the whole port and the city of Gwadar. According to statistics， by the end of 2018， COPHC has invested USD 50 million in the upgrade and transformation of the port’s facilities. After several years of hard work， the wharf recovered its full operation in 2017. Now the wharf can accommodate two 50，000-ton ships at the same time， and effectively handle bulk cargo， containers and ro-ro cargo. Another piece of good news came in 2018. On March 7， the regular container ship service of Gwadar Port was officially launched. This ship route was named as “Pakistan Gwadar – Mid East Express”. Operated by COSCO Shipping Lines， this route takes Jebel Ali， Karachi and Abu Dhabi as ports of transshipment， and relies on over 10 international ship routes of COSCO Shipping Lines to provide customers all over the world with shipping services from and to Gwadar Port.

However， the development of the port would still be restricted if the problem of hinterland economy remained. Therefore， the idea of creating a hinterland economy was proposed.

On the flight to Gwadar Port， a Chinese female attracted our attention. After chatting with her， we knew that she’s Chen Yanping， who went to investigate the port alone on behalf of her company， which planned to set up an overseas branch at the port.“This isn’t our first investigation here. This time， I go to the port to learn about the relevant procedures of the settlement of the company.” When asked why her company chose Gwadar Port， she told the reporter， “Our company is providing consulting services. At present， more and more Chinese companies are preparing to settle in the port， so consulting service business regarding this will also increase.” Like Chen Yanping’s company， many others are also preparing to take a preemptive opportunity to settle in Gwadar Port. China Linyi Mall Overseas Investment （Pakistan） Co.， Ltd.（“Linyi Mall”） is one of them.

Sun Dalong is the manager of Linyi Mall’s business in Gwadar Port. He hasn’t left here since his arrival more than one year ago. When talking about the company’s settlement here， he showed the honesty and frankness of the Shandong people. “There are two reasons for us to set up a branch in Gwadar Port： first， the preferential policies provided by the port and the free zone； second， after a few years， when the port has developed and a large number of companies would flood in， if we enter the market of Pakistan at that time， we may miss the best opportunity.”

The free zone mentioned by this man from Shandong is a particularly important part in the creation of a hinterland economy. When COPHC completed the transformation of the port， it started the construction of Gwadar Free Zone. During about one year from 2016 to 2017， the port witnessed huge changes with buildings built from scratches one after another； infrastructures such as water， electricity and telecommunications were put into operation successively during this period. On January 29th， 2018， Gwadar Free Zone （Southern Zone） was officially opened. The construction of this 923-hectare free zone will be divided into two phases which are the Trade and Logistics Zone in the South and the Processing and Manufacturing Zone in the North respectively.

In addition to infrastructures and the planning of the zone， another driver of the development of the free zone is preferential policies， which is the most effective way to attract enterprises here to generate cluster effects. Hu Yaozong pointed out， “Our Free Zone provides a tax holiday of 23 years， leasehold of 99 years， 100% foreign ownership， and one-stop services in the zone.” Some of these superiorities are not available in other free zones， “The concept of Free Zone is very new in Pakistan”. Therefore， they are very cautious in terms of preferential policies. In order to maximize the convenience provided to enterprises， the Free Zone has brought the developed one-stop services in Pakistan here. “Now the Customs， the Federal Board of Revenue， the National Bank and the Balochistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Pakistan have already opened their branches in Gwadar Port. In the future， there will be more departments working here. We can’t promise in how many days enterprises settled in the zone would finish the procedures， but we are doing our best to reduce the process of settlement，” Hu Yaozong said sincerely.

According to the news delivered on August 11， preferential tax policies for enterprises in the free zone， which had been a pending issue， was implemented on that day after repeated discussions and arguments. This is definitely good news.

For those enterprises coming here the earliest， their development is simultaneous with that of the free zone.

When talking about this topic， Sun Dalong just couldn’t stop. Linyi and Gwadar City are sister cities.“We have participated in almost all the trade fairs held in Pakistan and found the demand from the market here. The demand for wallpaper and TV wall glass is huge.” Based on this， the company specially organized Pakistani enterprises to contact relevant manufacturers in Linyi， opening up new markets for both sides. “This is the opportunity I am talking about. Pakistan represents a huge market， which needs us to be rooted here to develop it.”

Coincidentally， Kong Jun， Chairman of Linyi Transnational Procurement Economic Development Co.， Ltd.， also specially investigated Gwadar Port in the past few days. “We are also a subordinate to Linyi Mall engaged in import trade.” Kong Jun is optimistic about the mango business in Pakistan. “China has a huge market for mango， and Pakistani mangos are well-known in the world.” Kong Jun believes that Gwadar Port is a place with huge potentials for investment. “In addition to its favorable geographical position， once the cluster effect of enterprises is created， together with the opening of the new Gwadar Port Airport， the East Bay Expressway and the 300MW thermal power plant， this place is of infinite potential for development.”

When the reporter asked about the port’s regional economic radiation effects on the City of Gwadar and even the Province of Balochistan， Hu Yaozong said that changes had taken place silently in the City of Gwadar during the few years after the port is redeveloped.

Dadullah Yousaf， a local of Gwadar working for COPHC， is deeply touched by the changes here，“In the past， Gwadar was just a small fishing village where most people depended on fishing for a living. Now many people have jobs in the port with higher incomes.” Another employee of COPHC said that when he arrived here for the first time， most of the locals were using “cellphones for the seniors”（with few functions）， and now almost everyone has a smartphone. This is the biggest change. Hu Yaozong also talked about the changes he experienced， “when I arrived here four years ago， there was only one flight from Karachi to the port every week. Now there is basically one flight every day， and even two flights a day when there is a major event.”

The details of life are changing， and several major events held here are like the wings of a butterfly， the effects of which gradually emerge. On September 28， 2018， COPHC and Gwadar Port Authority jointly held the 1st Gwadar Marble and Stone Fair and the Balochistan Province Economic Development Forum. On March 28 of this year， the 2nd Gwadar International Commodities Fair was successfully held， which was attended by Yao Jing， the Chinese Ambassador in Pakistan； Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and some other Pakistani government officials. About over 200 exhibitors and 10000 purchasers attended the fair. From October 29 to 30， 2018， the Asian Parliamentary Assembly was held in Gwadar， a port city of Pakistan. At the meeting， the participating countries and various international agencies reached consensus in various fields and adopted several drafts of deliberations.

In addition， COPHC also focuses on the people’s livelihood. On August 7， the construction of a sheep house in one corner of the free zone was officially completed. Mr. Jia Xingfu， manager of the sheep farm and also administrative manager of COPHC Free Zone Company， served as a shepherd after his work. With the bleat drawing near， the flock of sheep with red flowers on their heads appeared. These 19 sheep were the first to live in the new sheep house.“We have signed a poverty alleviation agreement with Gwadar， according to which the government selected 14 poor families to work on the sheep farm.” Through the construction of three phases， the sheep farm is expected to contain 10，000 sheep in the future. “75% of the household here are engaged in fishery， and animal husbandry still remains in the most primitive state of stocking.” Through poverty alleviation， the animal husbandry of Gwadar may witness a 5，000 square metres sheep cot in the future.

Another plan to change Gwadar has a longer term-- planting green plants throughout Gwadar. When talking about this， Hu Yaozong repeated one word-- “difficult”. How difficult is it？ Wang Ruilei， who works for a forestation company responsible for green plants in the zone， told us the difficulties in it. From his arrival in May 2016， he has led a team to try constantly，“we brought the willow and apple trees from China， but they couldn’t grow here.” As the land in the zone is created through sea reclamation， the saltness is too high， and some of the areas were desolate before， every trial failed. “Take the grassland which we can see in the zone for example. Don’t look down upon these grasses， it took us two years to plant these grasses.”After testing dozens of plant varieties， the team finally succeeded， transforming Gwadar Port from a desert to “garden port”. To this end， COPHC has created a Gwadar Million Afforestation Project. Moreover， the restored freshwater treatment plant in the zone will increase the supply of fresh water to the city from currently 300，000 gallons per day to 1.5 million gallons per day. In addition， COPHC also cooperated with China Foundation for Peace and Development to build China-Pakistan Faqeer High School…

In the past six years， Gwadar Port obtained fruitful achievements. For the future， they have a clear development path and orientation. In the next six years， we hope that it will “scale new heights”.