Chinese company to build airport at Pakistani port

ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 (Reuters) - A Chinese company is to construct a 70 million dollars airport at Pakistan's deep sea port at Gwardar, which was also built with substantial Chinese help.

The Economic Coordination Committee, the government's top economic decision-making body, discussed the project at a meeting today, said Ashfaque Hasan Khan, an advisor to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

''The Economic Coordination Committee asked the Baluchistan government to make the land available for the project and finalise the price,'' Khan told reporters.

Khan said the international airport would be built by Chinese company China Harbour Engineering on 6,500 acres (2,630 hectares) of land near the port.

President Pervez Musharraf is expected to inaugurate the port in Baluchistan province next month.

Pakistan hopes the port will be a gateway not only for its trade but for that of central Asia and China too.

The ECC also approved the development of an economic zone for Chinese investors and Pakistani-Chinese joint ventures in Punjab province, Khan said.

Investors in the zone will be able to import capital equipment free of custom duties and taxes, he said.

REUTERS SRS VC1805