Private hospitality groups in Pakistan have signed memoranda of understanding with the government to build resorts along the picturesque coastal highway in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province, a naval official said on Sunday, adding the investment will help attract local and international tourists to the country.
From the vertiginous peaks of the Kirthar Mountain to the green-carpeted valleys below, Pakistan’s Balochistan province is home to a diverse range of stunning landscapes. Prime among these is the Hingol National Park in the Lasbela district which continues to enthrall local and international tourists eager to catch a glimpse of the myriads of natural wonders that the site has to offer.
From a distance, one can see the Princess of Hope – a natural rock formation that gives the impression of a woman looking beyond the horizon – even as the Chandragup mud volcanoes and Kund Malir’s scenic beaches lure visitors to the area. The Hinglaj Mata temple, which is one of the most sacred places for people of the Hindu faith, is yet another prime attraction in the province.
“We have a 1,000-kilometer coastline [in Balochistan] with an untapped potential over there. We don’t have any resorts along the coastline,” Commander Shabeeh-ul-Kabeer, deputy director of the Pakistan International Maritime Expo and Conference (PIMEC), told Arab News on Sunday. “[But now], MoUs have been signed with hospitality industry groups to build resorts along the coastline so that people, including foreign tourists, may come to see this beautiful landscape,”he added.
Kabeer said around 20 different MoUs have been signed on the sidelines of the three-day conference that featured 133 stalls, including many by foreign companies.
“It’s just the beginning. You cannot translate it [investment pledges] right now in the digital amount, but this is a big thing as far as timing is concerned,’” the official said, adding that Dreamworld Resorts and Hotels, which is a big name in the hospitality sector, has also agreed to invest.
“Another famous [brand] Watersports came from Lahore to Karachi to sign a deal to build a watersport resort on the Balochistan coast,” the official said, adding that discussions related to the development of Sindh’s coastal belt and its islands were also discussed between relevant stakeholders during the event.
“Minister of maritime affairs today said the investment will be brought to make resorts on the islands to attract tourists,” he said.
Aamer Hammoudi, an official from Watermaster, a Finland-based company manufacturing multipurpose dredgers, said foreign exhibitors at the PIMEC got the opportunity to gauge what was happening in the Pakistani market.
“I have to say that the participation was very good. There had been a lot of activities with the right kind of visitors,” he told Arab News, adding that certain opportunities were identified through PIMEC that will materialize in the future.
“Definitely, it’s a good exhibition,” he added.
PIMEC is part of the AMAN (peace) multinational maritime exercise, which has been organized in the country every two years since 2007. The eighth edition of the exercise, called AMAN-23, started on Friday with ships, aircraft, special operation forces, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) marines’ teams, and observers arriving from over 50 countries to attend the event.
The exercise has been divided into the harb or and sea phases. The harbor phase involved activities such as seminars, operational discussions, professional demonstrations, international get together, and pre-sail planning of evolutions at sea.
