CEAT expects growth in FY27 driven by Camso and international markets despite rising costs

The Western Cape Government is organizing its first Infrastructure Ministers' Summit, which will take place in Cape Town on July 30th. The event will be led by Infrastructure Minister Tertius Simmer.

Goals and Participants of the Event

This forum will bring together representatives from government, the financial sector, private business, and academic circles. The main objective of the initiative is to strengthen interaction between these parties, attract investment, and accelerate the implementation of infrastructure projects. This measure aims to stimulate regional economic growth, create jobs, and boost investor confidence.

Strategic Vision for Development

The Summit emphasizes the Western Cape Government's commitment to transforming infrastructure planning, financing, and implementation processes through transparency, partnership, and shared long-term growth. Discussions will focus on the Western Cape Infrastructure Framework to 2050 (WCIF 2050)—the province's plan that serves as a catalyst for social, spatial, environmental, and economic progress.

Focus on Projects and Partnership

Supported by the Western Cape Infrastructure Strategy and Implementation Plan, the event will also address the Western Cape's Unified Integrated Portfolio of Infrastructure Projects, which is designed to coordinate the transition of projects from the conceptual stage to execution. Simmer stated that infrastructure today goes beyond simply building roads, schools, or public buildings; it is aimed at building confidence, attracting capital, expanding economic opportunities, and improving residents' quality of life.

New Approaches to Development

He particularly noted that the Summit unites key stakeholders involved in regulating, planning, financing, and executing infrastructure works, allowing for collective and accelerated progress. Simmer stressed that they are fundamentally rethinking public-private partnerships by ensuring transparency, certainty, and collaboration. The Western Cape Government continues to strive for growth based on infrastructure, spatial transformation, job creation, and shaping a province ready for the future and providing long-term value.

Innovation and Investment

The project portfolio accelerates implementation and provides partners and investors with confidence through improved project preparation, management, compliance, and the adoption of ISO 9001 principles. Participants will examine strengthening cooperation between the public and private sectors, enhancing project readiness, seeking innovative funding sources, and expanding implementable infrastructure projects to support sustainable economic growth. Innovation will also be a central theme, as discussions will cover how digital technologies, data-driven planning, modern procurement methods, and integrated project management contribute to more informed decision-making, increased efficiency, and reduced risks.

In the city of Gwadar, located in southwestern Pakistan, residents are facing serious problems amid the active growth of the port. During one hot day on June 12, a local resident, Shamsul Haq Kalmati, discovered that the coastline was covered with a dark oil slick, indicating larger-scale pollution.

Environmental Threats and Spill Causes

Local officials warned that the 20-kilometer-long slick poses a threat to marine fauna and the local fishing industry. Shortly after its discovery, a dead sea turtle was found, half-buried in the oily sand. The government continues to investigate the cause of the spill, which is presumed to be related to military actions in the Persian Gulf, where crude oil tankers are being attacked in the conflict between Iran, the US, and Israel. Other theories link the incident to oil smuggling from Iran into Pakistan.

Gwadar, situated in Balochistan province, is near the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a quarter of the world's maritime oil volume was transported annually until February. However, the vulnerability of the waters around the port and local fishermen is due not only to proximity to oil flows but also to years of rapid urbanization, which has led to flooding, displacement of populations, and environmental degradation.

History of Gwadar Port Development

In 2015, China and Pakistan signed a cooperation agreement under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)—an ambitious infrastructure project designed to connect western China with the Indian Ocean and bypass the potential maritime choke point of the Malacca Strait. Gwadar Port was envisioned as the terminus of this corridor. The first phase of the port was built by the governments of Pakistan and China for $248 million and was opened in March 2007. It was leased to the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) for 40 years, but in 2013, PSA withdrew from Gwadar, transferring rights to China Overseas Ports Holding Company Ltd, which has managed it since then.

The second phase, started in 2007, focuses on developing infrastructure around the port, including the completed coastal highway and airport. At the beginning of this year, both countries announced the resumption of efforts to develop CPEC and further develop Gwadar. The Chairman of the Gwadar Port Authority, Nur ul Haq Baloch, stated that the administration is considering reviving plans for an extensive 'Oil City' project in the district for the storage, refining, and processing of petroleum products.

Impact on the Local Environment

Since the announcement of CPEC, there have been serious concerns about the impact of constructing the deep-sea port and associated infrastructure on the environment. The city is susceptible to drought, climate change, groundwater depletion, and sea-level rise, regularly experiencing unpredictable extreme weather events. Furthermore, the development has altered the local marine ecosystem. Previously, a natural bay formed by a crescent served as the center of a fishing community where fishermen could fish year-round. Locals proudly called this bay their Saindak and Rekho Dik, comparing the rich marine life to the well-known gold and copper mines of Balochistan. However, with the advent of the deep-sea port and rapid development in the city area, this era has ended.

An expert on China and Associate Professor at Lahore University of Management Sciences, Hasan H Karar, notes that environmental impact is inevitable when implementing mega-projects such as ports and railways, regardless of funding. He emphasizes that key issues concern the assessment of these consequences, methods for mitigating them, and the participation of the local population in discussing these projects, which, according to him, is currently insufficient.

Restrictions for Fishermen

Fishermen in Gwadar traditionally gather daily on the shore at Dhoria—an open platform. Three multi-purpose port jetties were previously located near this spot, where ships were loaded and unloaded. After the 2000s, fishermen were forced to leave their former fishing grounds as they fell within the port's territory. A former local fisherman, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that locals avoid public discussion about the port due to fear of local authorities.

Currently, fishermen are prohibited from approaching either the port or the places where they used to fish. Rauf Baloch recalls fishing with his father, noting that catches were plentiful before, but the situation has changed now. In his late thirties, he is forced to go out to sea for Iranian oil smuggling. He describes it as an 'open prison' that has disrupted his mobility.

Besides displacement, the port's development has brought other problems. The construction of the $168 million Eastbay expressway in 2017, connecting Gwadar Port to the Makran coastal road and further to Karachi, sparked protests among fishermen in 2018. The highway blocked their routes to the Arabian Sea. Although authorities eventually built a concrete passage under the road for fishermen access to the sea, some consider it inadequate, and Rauf Baloch also describes it as an 'open prison.'

Water and Infrastructure Issues

Many roads built in Gwadar and its surroundings as part of ongoing development, according to locals and some experts, exacerbate flooding during rains. Of particular concern is the highway known as the GT road. Barkat Baloch from Gwadar district claims that because of this road, water does not drain into the sea or soak into the ground, hindering the construction of houses and walls.

The situation worsens with increasing construction. Hydrologist Nasir Ahmad explains that previously, during heavy rains, water flowed from the land into the sea, but this no longer happens. The resulting floods have led to the resettlement of many families. Ahmad notes the paradox that life in Gwadar depends on the absence of rain, as any rain exceeding 40 mm, especially when coinciding with high tide, quickly raises the groundwater level and causes inundation.

Smuggling as a Means of Earning

The problems caused by development are compounded by the long-standing issue of competition from trawlers. Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman, a prominent political leader of local protests, has criticized illegal trawling off the coast of Gwadar for years, which causes environmental damage. He points out that large commercial trawlers from the neighboring Sindh province violate territorial boundaries, should not fish within 12 nautical miles of the coast, and use destructive bottom trawling methods. Unlike them, local fishermen use small boats and do not engage in trawling.

Fishing rights remain a contentious issue, sparking mass protests. Maasi Zainab, an elderly woman from the coastal area of Mulla Band, agrees that development and restricted access to the coast have created great difficulties for fishermen. She adds that they are often stopped for several hours due to the movement of Chinese or VIP figures near the port, and by the time they reach deep waters, trawlers have already caught most of the fish. Social activist and researcher KB Firaq lists several problems forcing local fishermen into oil smuggling. He argues that despite CPEC projects, the benefits for the residents of Gwadar are not yet visible, and trawlers have been destroying fish and eggs with their nets since the 1990s, threatening marine life. Moreover, projects around the city have stopped the natural drainage of water into the sea, and areas once rich in spawning grounds are damaged by oil spills, which, according to Firaq, has become the cause of an ecological disaster for marine life in Gwadar.

Itaú Unibanco is integrating artificial intelligence into its operations, announcing the adoption of generative AI in its official application, named ia.i, on July 27th.

ia.i Features

With this new feature, customers will be able to use a text field to ask questions and receive detailed answers, which will include suggestions for new financial products and services. The institution emphasizes that 76% of its customers already intensively use digital channels.

João Araújo, Director of Strategy, Customer Lifecycle, and Artificial Intelligence, highlighted that previously there was no dedicated space for the customer to interact directly with the institution, preventing them from describing their needs. Now, the experience within the application is automatically built, presenting data, graphs, and tables according to the user's individual demand.

Interaction Examples

The consumer can type any request, such as asking about their average ticket, requesting help to analyze monthly expenses with Uber by comparing periods, asking for a comparison between cards like The One and Mastercard Black, or questioning what their financial habits reveal about them.

Access to ia.i is being gradually released to 300 thousand customers starting from this date. Tecnoblog has been following this digital transformation for over two years, and this update expands the conversational AI project, allowing the user to initiate transactions similarly to how they do with assistants like Alexa and Siri.

AI History and Results

It is relevant to mention that Itaú's WhatsApp has allowed Pix transactions initiated by text or audio since 2024, and Itaú Emps offers financial consulting for small businesses. Since the implementation of AI, there has been an increase in the problem resolution rate in customer service, rising from 20% to 30%.

Itaú Intelligence Development

Carlos Eduardo (Cadu) Mazzei, the bank's technology director, explained that the data gathered by various areas of Itaú were structured and began to be treated as an internal product of the company. He also emphasized that there are limitations and legal aspects that must be strictly observed, given the high level of regulation of the banking sector in the country.

The bank developed an internal platform where AI solutions are created to serve different channels and areas. Itaú confirmed the use of both open and closed models and maintains contact with large industry companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and AWS. The Itaú Intelligence project includes the use of short-term and long-term memories and the orchestration of multiple models.

Since the creation of this platform, Itaú has registered a 65% decrease in costs related to generative AI. The Itaú Institute of Science and Technology (ICTi), which has over 195 researchers, contributed to the bank's evolution towards a data-driven model.