Pakistan has postponed the opening of the China-funded New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA), worth nearly $250 million, due to security concerns.

Accordingly Nikkei Asia Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was reportedly scheduled to attend the inauguration of the New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA), located near a port at the centre of the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

However, the opening, scheduled for August 14, Pakistan’s Independence Day, was abruptly postponed after mass protests earlier this month paralyzed Gwadar, the city where the airport is located.

No new opening date has yet been announced for the $246 million project, which was launched following a funding agreement with Beijing in 2015.

“All necessary work and arrangements at the airport (New Gwadar) have been completed and it is ready for flight operations,” Nikkei Asia A government official familiar with the matter was quoted as saying.

The opening of Gwadar’s new international airport has been postponed again after being first postponed last year, citing concerns about low flight demand amid ongoing militant attacks and separatist unrest.

Located 45 kilometers from the Chinese-controlled port of Gwadar, the single-runway airport covers an area of ​​4,300 acres and can accommodate large aircraft such as the Airbus A380, making it the largest airport in Pakistan by area, surpassing even Islamabad Airport.

Gwadar’s efforts to establish itself as a major hub have been disappointing, with only three weekly flights from Karachi to a smaller, nearby airport, many of which have been cancelled.

Despite the expected direct flights by Chinese airlines, analysts doubt that demand will increase significantly, reported Nikkei Asia.

“The opening of the NGIA is symbolic as it is not economically viable for any airline in the short term,” Afsar Malik, an airline economics expert, was quoted as saying.

The Pakistani government has long touted the multi-billion dollar investment in China as a means of transforming Gwadar into the next Singapore.

However, on Monday, the prime minister ordered that half of all government sea cargo originally destined for Karachi be diverted to Gwadar port, underscoring the underutilization of that port.

There are fears that Gwadar’s new transport hub could become a useless project, similar to Sri Lanka’s Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, often called the “emptiest international airport in the world” because of its low air traffic.

“Prestige projects are nothing new for the Chinese. They have built similar projects at home that have only limited benefits,” Nikkei Asia quoted Mohammad Shoaib, an assistant professor at Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad.

“The Chinese are waiting for the right time and the NGIA can be useful once Gwadar gets going. … In the meantime, the NGIA and the old Gwadar airport can be used by other support missions from China,” Shoaib added.

This month, there were large protests in Gwadar by groups fighting for civil, political and economic rights in Balochistan, where the Chinese-funded port is located.

Beijing has become increasingly cautious about investing in Pakistan following a series of deadly attacks on Pakistani citizens, which faces increasing militant activity by both Islamist groups and separatists in Balochistan.

Islamabad, already struggling with a weak economy, has promised to improve worker safety and launch new anti-terrorism measures. Despite hopes the new airport will attract more Chinese investment, skepticism remains about its impact on the largely impoverished local population.