[6] In 2015, it was announced that the city and port would be further developed under CPEC at a cost of $1.62 billion,[7] with the aim of linking northern Pakistan and western China to the deep water seaport.

[15] The port is situated on a rocky outcropping in the Arabian sea that forms part of a natural hammerhead-shaped peninsula protruding out from the Pakistani coastline.

[16] The peninsula, known as the Gwadar Promontory, consists of rocky outcropping reaching an altitude of 560 feet with a width of 2.5 miles that are connected to the Pakistani shore by a narrow and sandy 12 kilometre long isthmus.

Despite Taimur Sultan's eventual recovery of power in Muscat, the Omani administration continued to hold sway over Gwadar through the appointment of local governors.

Nevertheless, Pakistan started to indicate interest in Gwadar after it acquired control of various Baloch territories, including the Chief Commissioner's Province of British Baluchistan, as well as the states of Kharan, Makran, Lasbela and Kalat.

In 1997, a government-appointed task force identified Gwadar as one of the focus area of development, but the project did not launch due to economic sanctions imposed against Pakistan following its nuclear tests in May 1998.

[27] After completion of Phase 1 in 2007, the first commercial cargo vessel to dock at the port was the "Pos Glory," with 70,000 Metric Tonnes of Wheat on 15 March 2008.

[28] The port is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast through the Strait of Malacca, to Mombasa, from there via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region with its rail connections to Central Europe and the North Sea.

[29][30][31][32] In 2019, the Baloch Liberation Army, which opposes the Gwadar Port City, targeted Chinese nationals in an attack on the Pearl-Continental Hotel.

[36] In addition to construction of nine berths and cargo terminals, plans for expanded port infrastructure also include several projects that will be financed by loans extended by Chinese state owned banks.

[39] Dredging will enable docking of larger ships with a deadweight tonnage of up to 70,000 at Gwadar Port,[8] while current capacity permits a maximum 20,000 DWT.

[52] In September 2018 the Ministry of Maritime of Pakistan submitted a report in Senate that during the last five years, 99 ships loaded with cargo from seven different countries anchored at Gwadar Port.

[54] The expanded port will be located near a 2,282-acre free trade area in Gwadar which is being modelled on the lines of the Special Economic Zones of China.

[60] Business established in the special economic zone will be exempt from Pakistani income, sales, and federal excise taxes for 23 years.

[65][66] Pakistan expressed its desire for China to include additional projects within the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), encompassing areas such as energy, climate change, electricity transmission, and tourism.

Furthermore, Beijing declined Islamabad's proposal to construct a 500-kilovolt transmission line from Gwadar port to the national electricity grid in Karachi.

Following the completion of Phase I, the Government of Pakistan in February 2007 signed a 40-year agreement with PSA International for development and operation of the port, and an adjacent 584-acre special economic zone.

[74] The contract signing ceremony was held on 18 February 2013 in Islamabad, and was attended by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Chinese Ambassador Liu Jian, as well as various federal ministers and members of parliament, as well as senior government officials.

[84] China's stake in Gwadar will also allow it to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean, a vital route for oil transportation between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

[86][87] The Gwadar Port project will also complement China's Western Development plan, which includes not only Xinjiang, but also the neighbouring regions of Tibet and Qinghai.

[78] As a result of the CPEC, Chinese imports and exports to the Middle East, Africa, and Europe would require much shorter shipment times and distances.

[89] Upon completion of CPEC-related infrastructure projects, transit times between Kashgar, China and Pakistan's Gwadar Port will be greatly reduced.

Additionally, the Chinese government has announced plans to lay railway track from Tashkent, Uzbekistan towards Kyrgyzstan with onwards connections to China and Pakistan's coast.

[91] The heads of various Central Asian republics have expressed their desire to connect their infrastructure networks to the CPEC project and Gwadar Port via China.

These crossings complement the CPEC project to provide Central Asian states access to Pakistan's seaports in Gwadar and Karachi by completely bypassing Afghanistan – a country which has been ravaged by civil war and political instability since the late 1970s.

In May 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Iranian counterpart President Hassan Rouhani signed a series of twelve agreements in Tehran in a boon to India–Iran relations.

[38] COPHC will additionally build cargo terminals in the 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) of land to the north and northwest of the site along the shoreline of the Demi Zirr bay.

The port city was considered the "crown jewel" of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

A report of the LEAD Fellows' Study Group on the Oil Spill (SGOS) alleges that a port expansion would lead to future damage on the maritime environment such as oil spills and other human industrial waste pouring into the sea, also alleging that Pakistan's laws on maritime pollution have weak penalties and lack of institutional responsibility.

In his publication in Pakistan and the Gulf Economist, Haider put forth the argument that the sea water on the Baloch coast was pollution free due to the lack of human presence and activity.