ISLAMABAD, April 9: A meeting to review the progress on the Gwadar Port project was held here on Friday. Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz presided over the meeting and was attended by the ministers for communication, industries and railways , and other officials concerned.

The meeting also discussed setting up of special economic zone at the Gwadar Port that would be ready early next year. It reviewed infrastructure requirements for Gwadar and emphasized the need for close coordination between the Centre and the provinces and integrated approach between various stakeholders.

The railways minister stressed the need for establishing raillink between Gwadar and Chaman so that the transportation of goods to Afghanistan and Central Asia could be facilitated.

It also discussed the status of land acquisition for the port, construction of jet runway and availability of utilities including water and electricity. The finance minister noted considerable development, but said lot more needed to be done to ensure early construction of Gwadar Port. -APP