ISLAMABAD - Gwadar, a previously poorly-known port town in Pakistan, has been rapidly evolving into a new economic engine for the country with the construction of a free-trade zone being co-built with China.

According to the Gwadar Port Authority, it is Pakistan's largest infrastructural project since independence. After the completion of the first phase of Gwadar port, billions of dollars have been invested in Gwadar and in the next one or two years the investment will likely increase manifold.

The authority said China is a major investor in Gwadar and has spent $248 million in the first phase of Gwadar port.