Pakistan’s largest airport becomes operational, part of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative

QUETTA, Pakistan — Pakistan’s largest airport, funded and built in the country’s restive southwest by Beijin g, has become operational, officials said Monday. Pakistani Defense Minister, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, and Chinese officials were among those attending a ceremony at Gwadar airport and watched the arrival of the Pakistan International Airlines inaugural flight from the southern city of Karachi. Besides the airport, which has an estimated cost of $230 million, China has also constructed a deep seaport as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative to increase trade by building infrastructure around the world. In televised remarks, Asif thanked China for building the airport and said the airport would play a key role in improving the country’s economy, attracting international investment and bringing prosperity to Balochistan.