A BRAND new international airport that cost £190million to build has been left to rot without a single plane ever taking off.
The New Gwadar International Airport has the capacity to serve 400,000 people – but its gates have not welcomed a single passenger yet.
Located in the coastal city of Gwadar in Pakistan, the ambitious airport was built by China in an attempt to revive the impoverished city around it.
However, since the construction works concluded in 2024, the airport has not been functional even for a single day.
Eerie pictures show the airport sitting empty without a single passenger.
One satellite image shows the empty runaways without any aircraft fleets stationed there.
Contrary to bustling international airports teeming with people such as travelers, employees, and security personnel, Gwadar airport presents a stark contrast with its deserted ambiance.
At the moment, it is the biggest airport in Pakistan – built across an area of 4,300 acres.
Despite its capacity to accommodate large aircraft like the Airbus A380 and a mix of Boeing models for both domestic and international flights, the airport sits virtually idle.
But not a single plane has ever taken off from the airport.
It is understood that security concerns delayed the inauguration of the international airport.
There were fears the area’s mountains — and their proximity to the airport — could be the ideal launchpad for an attack.
Instead, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang hosted a virtual ceremony.
The inaugural flight was off-limits to the media and public.
The airport is also a stark contrast to the impoverished and backward southwestern Balochistan province around it.
Even though officials have lauded the airport as a game-changer, the anticipated transformations have yet to materialize in Gwadar city, a location where a massive airport capable of handling 400,000 passengers seems inconsequential for its relatively small population of 90,000 residents.
Abdul Ghafoor Hoth, district president of the Balochistan Awami Party, said not a single resident of Gwadar was hired to work at the airport, “not even as a watchman.”
He added: “Forget the other jobs, how many Baloch people are at this port that was built for the Chinese communist party.”
For the past decade, China has poured money into Balochistan and Gwadar as part of a multibillion-dollar project that connects its western Xinjiang province with the Arabian Sea, called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Experts fear that Chinese investment is a way to gain more military access in the area.
Azeem Khalid, an international relations expert who specializes in Pakistan-China ties, said: “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.”
Pakistan, keen to protect China’s investments, has stepped up its military footprint in Gwadar to combat dissent.
The city is a jumble of checkpoints, barbed wire, troops, barricades, and watchtowers.
Roads close at any given time, several days a week, to permit the safe passage of Chinese workers and Pakistani VIPs.
