PAK PREPARES TO HAND OVER GWADAR PORT TO CHINA

Pakistan has reached an agreement with Singapore’s PSA International to transfer operational control of their Gwadar deep-water port to a Chinese company, The Financial Times reported. The port, which was built in part with a loan from China, is close to the Strait of Hormuz and the Pakistan-Iran boarder, and as such the deal will be closely watched by the US. The port, which was also built by China Harbor Engineering Company, had a total investment of US$248 million, US$198 million of which came from China. PSA began running the port five years ago as part of a 40-year contract. Part of the reason for the transfer has been Pakistan’s inability to follow through on some of its promises to PSA, including building a road to the port to aid in service operations