'Ghost' £240million new airport with one just passenger flight a week
With more than $240 million pumped into it and designed to handle 400,000 passengers annually, Pakistan's priciest and newest airport launched in 2024 on the edges of Gwadar - a seaside city in the south-western province of Balochistan.
Constructed with substantial Chinese investment as part of the enormous China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the New Gwadar International Airport was conceived as an emblem of advancement and global connectivity.
A swift look at aviation tracker Flightradar24 reveals a different tale. Typically, just one flight takes off and lands at the airport weekly, both travelling to and from Karachi.
That's a world away from the thriving international gateway pledged during its development.
Positioned on the Arabian Sea, Gwadar's fresh airport serves as the cornerstone of China's multi-billion-pound scheme to connect its western province of Xinjiang to warm-water harbours, reports the Express.
Yet as international relations expert Azeem Khalid told The Independent: "This airport is not for Pakistan or Gwadar.
"It is for China, so they can have secure access for their citizens to Gwadar and Balochistan."
It comes as it was revealed last month one of the UK's abandoned airports would re-open with cheap flights to holiday hotspots. Manston Airport in Kent saw its last flight for Amsterdam leave on April 9, 2014 and since then its been used as a lorry park. Currently undergoing a major refurbishment, the revived airport is slated to reopen in 2028.
The grand opening ceremony was a subdued event. Security concerns meant Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese Premier Li Qiang participated virtually, and the maiden flight was shut to both press and public.
Security stays stringent - watchtowers, checkpoints and armed patrols are familiar sights throughout the city.
Despite its strategic significance, Gwadar itself presents a contrasting reality. The city has fewer than 90,000 residents and isn't connected to Pakistan's national electricity grid - locals rely on solar panels or imported Iranian energy.
The province of Balochistan remains one of the poorest regions in Pakistan.
Numerous locals claim progress has bypassed them entirely. There are persistent shortages of drinking water and employment prospects have virtually vanished since Gwadar's era as an Omani port town decades ago.
Currently, everyday existence is interrupted by identity checks and limited movement as officials increase security to safeguard Chinese workers and investments.
Streets are regularly shut for VIP convoys whilst intelligence operatives monitor journalists closely.
The wave of Chinese investment has not resulted in local employment or enhanced living standards.
Abdul Ghafoor Hoth, district president of the Balochistan Awami Party, said that not a single resident of Gwadar was hired at the new airport - not even as a watchman.
"Forget the other jobs, how many Baloch people are at this port that was built for CPEC," he told The Independent.
Despite government claims CPEC has created around 2,000 jobs locally, it remains unclear if these roles benefit Baloch residents or outsiders brought in from other parts of Pakistan.
The CPEC corridor has fuelled decades-long insurgency in resource-rich Balochistan. Separatist factions challenge what they perceive as exploitation by Islamabad at their cost and have launched violent assaults targeting both Pakistani troops and Chinese personnel.
Fears over security pushed back the airport's opening ceremony, with officials worried that surrounding peaks could offer sanctuary for extremists.
Following a government offensive in 2014 that temporarily curbed bloodshed, assaults have surged once more after a Taliban truce crumbled in late 2022. Residents claim that voicing dissent brings danger of arrest or something far worse - enforced disappearances continue to be a stark truth, say campaigners.
Foreign affairs analyst Khalid captures community anger: "The Pakistani government is not willing to give anything to the Baloch people, and the Baloch are not willing to take anything from the government."
What emerges is an 'economy of appearances' where striking new infrastructure conceals profound marginalisation of everyday citizens.
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