Jiwani
Jiwani is a town and commercial port located on the Gulf of Oman in the Gwadar District of the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The town has a population of 25,332 and is expected to become a major commercial centre in concert with the development of the port city of Gwadar, located nearly to the east.
Overview
Jiwani is located between the Pakistani port city of Gwadar and the Iranian port city of Chabahar at the eastern end of Gwatar Bay. The area around the bay includes an important mangrove forest, and is an important habitat for a wide variety of wildlife, especially the endangered olive ridley and green turtles. Plans to grant fishing concessions and offshore drilling rights are potentially a threat to the wildlife of the area. The population largely depends upon fishing. A number of export-oriented fish freezing plants are located in Jiwani. Jiwani is from the Iranian border.Jiwani holds strategic importance in the region, located immediately adjacent to the shipping lanes to and from the Persian Gulf. This is the main reason that the town hosts a small naval base and an airport with a runway.
Jiwani was used during World War II as an Allied airfield and the remains of some airfields are still available. Visiting the accommodation area of the airfield base used during World War II in Jiwani reveals many handwritten small stories and names of Allied pilots. There is a water system which is now abandoned for use but is a marvel of civil works for meeting water requirements of the station. It used to store rain water in three stages in order to clean the water using its usual flow. The water was then pumped to the airfield, and also up to the Victoria Hut, which is nearly from the water tank system.
The Makran Coastal Highway now reaches Jiwani from Gwadar and also connects to Karachi.
According to media reports, Pakistan and China plan to build a military base in Jiwani.