diff --git a/src/xpk/commands/cluster.py b/src/xpk/commands/cluster.py
index 2b93c0daf..f59cf98ab 100644
--- a/src/xpk/commands/cluster.py
+++ b/src/xpk/commands/cluster.py
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@
 from ..utils.file import write_tmp_file
 from . import cluster_gcluster
 from .common import set_cluster_command
+import shlex
 import shutil
 import os
 
@@ -1054,6 +1055,128 @@ def run_gke_clusters_list_command(args) -> int:
   return 0
 
 
+def parse_command_args_to_dict(arg_string: str) -> dict:
+  """Parses a command-line argument string into a dictionary of parameters.
+
+  This function safely splits a command-line string, handling quoted arguments
+  and different parameter formats (e.g., --flag, --key=value, --key value).
+  It's designed to help convert user-provided custom arguments into a structured
+  format for easier merging and de-duplication.
+
+  Args:
+    arg_string: A string containing command-line arguments, such as
+      "--master-ipv4-cidr=10.0.0.0/28 --enable-ip-alias".
+
+  Returns:
+    A dictionary where keys are parameter names (e.g., "--enable-ip-alias",
+    "--cluster-ipv4-cidr") and values are their corresponding parsed values
+    (e.g., True for a boolean flag, "10.0.0.0/28" for a string value).
+  """
+  parsed_args = {}
+  if not arg_string:
+    return parsed_args
+
+  tokens = shlex.split(arg_string)
+  # After shlex.split: Print the tokens list
+  xpk_print(f'Shlex-split tokens: {tokens}')
+  i = 0
+  while i < len(tokens):
+    token = tokens[i]
+    if token.startswith('--'):
+      if '=' in token:
+        key, value = token.split('=', 1)
+        parsed_args[key] = value
+      else:
+        if i + 1 < len(tokens) and not tokens[i + 1].startswith('--'):
+          parsed_args[token] = tokens[i + 1]
+          i += 1
+        else:
+          parsed_args[token] = True
+    elif token.startswith('-'):
+      pass
+    i += 1
+  # After parsing: Print the final parsed dictionary
+  xpk_print(f'Final parsed_args: {parsed_args}')
+  xpk_print('-------------------------------------------')
+  return parsed_args
+
+
+def process_gcloud_args(user_parsed_args, final_gcloud_args):
+  """
+  Processes custom cluster arguments and updates the final gcloud arguments dictionary.
+
+  This function handles special cases for '--no-' and '--enable-' prefixes
+  in custom arguments to correctly modify the gcloud arguments.
+
+  """
+  for key, value in user_parsed_args.items():
+    if key.startswith('--no-'):
+      opposite_key = f'--{key[5:]}'
+      if opposite_key in final_gcloud_args:
+        del final_gcloud_args[opposite_key]
+      final_gcloud_args[key] = True
+    elif key.startswith('--enable-'):
+      opposite_key = f'--no-{key[2:]}'
+      opposite_disable_key = f'--disable-{key[9:]}'
+      if opposite_key in final_gcloud_args:
+        del final_gcloud_args[opposite_key]
+      if opposite_disable_key in final_gcloud_args:
+        del final_gcloud_args[opposite_disable_key]
+      final_gcloud_args[key] = value
+    elif key.startswith('--disable-'):
+      feature_name = key[10:]
+      opposite_enable_key = f'--enable-{feature_name}'
+      if opposite_enable_key in final_gcloud_args:
+        del final_gcloud_args[opposite_enable_key]
+      final_gcloud_args[key] = True
+    else:
+      # For all other arguments, simply add or update their values.
+      final_gcloud_args[key] = value
+
+
+def merge_conditional_params(conditional_params, final_gcloud_args):
+  """
+  Merge conditional parameters into the final gcloud arguments dictionary. Specifically handle the --addons parameter by merging its values.
+  """
+  for key, value in conditional_params.items():
+    if key not in final_gcloud_args:
+      final_gcloud_args[key] = value
+    elif key == '--addons' and key in final_gcloud_args:
+      final_gcloud_args[key] = ','.join(
+          list(set(final_gcloud_args[key].split(',') + value.split(',')))
+      )
+
+
+def construct_gcloud_command_string(
+    cluster_name: str, gcloud_args: dict
+) -> str:
+  """
+  Constructs the gcloud command string from a dictionary of arguments.
+
+  Args:
+    cluster_name: The name of the cluster.
+    gcloud_args: A dictionary where keys are gcloud argument names
+                 and values are their corresponding parsed values.
+
+  Returns:
+    A complete gcloud command string.
+  """
+  command_parts = ['gcloud beta container clusters create', cluster_name]
+
+  for key, value in gcloud_args.items():
+    if value is True:
+      command_parts.append(key)
+    elif value is False:
+      pass
+    elif value is not None and str(value).strip() != '':
+      if ' ' in str(value):
+        command_parts.append(f'{key}="{value}"')
+      else:
+        command_parts.append(f'{key}={value}')
+
+  return ' '.join(command_parts)
+
+
 def run_gke_cluster_create_command(
     args, gke_control_plane_version: str, system: SystemCharacteristics
 ) -> int:
@@ -1077,59 +1200,50 @@ def run_gke_cluster_create_command(
     )
     machine_type = args.cluster_cpu_machine_type
 
-  # Create the regional cluster with `num-nodes` CPU nodes in the same zone as
-  # TPUs. This has been tested with clusters of 300 VMs. Larger clusters will
-  # benefit from a larger initial `--num-nodes`. After the cluster is created,
-  # the auto-scaler can reduce/increase the nodes based on the load.
+  final_gcloud_args = {}
+  final_gcloud_args['--project'] = args.project
+  final_gcloud_args['--region'] = zone_to_region(args.zone)
+  final_gcloud_args['--node-locations'] = args.zone
+  final_gcloud_args['--cluster-version'] = gke_control_plane_version
+  final_gcloud_args['--machine-type'] = machine_type
+  final_gcloud_args['--enable-autoscaling'] = True
+  final_gcloud_args['--total-min-nodes'] = 1
+  final_gcloud_args['--total-max-nodes'] = 1000
+  final_gcloud_args['--num-nodes'] = args.default_pool_cpu_num_nodes
+  final_gcloud_args['--enable-dns-access'] = True
+  # This value is from here: https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/how-to/legacy/network-isolation
+  final_gcloud_args['--master-ipv4-cidr'] = '172.16.0.32/28'
+  # This value is from here https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/subnets
+  final_gcloud_args['--cluster-ipv4-cidr'] = '10.224.0.0/12'
+  final_gcloud_args['--enable-private-nodes'] = True
+  final_gcloud_args['--enable-ip-alias'] = True
+  final_gcloud_args['--autoscaling-profile'] = 'optimize-utilization'
 
-  # If the user passes in the gke version then we use that directly instead of the rapid release.
-  # This allows users to directly pass a specified gke version without release channel constraints.
-  rapid_release_cmd = ''
   if args.gke_version is not None:
-    rapid_release_cmd = ' --release-channel rapid'
-
-  command = (
-      'gcloud beta container clusters create'
-      f' {args.cluster} --project={args.project}'
-      f' --region={zone_to_region(args.zone)}'
-      f' --node-locations={args.zone}'
-      f' --cluster-version={gke_control_plane_version}'
-      f' --machine-type={machine_type}'
-      ' --enable-autoscaling'
-      ' --total-min-nodes 1 --total-max-nodes 1000'
-      f' --num-nodes {args.default_pool_cpu_num_nodes}'
-      f' {args.custom_cluster_arguments}'
-      f' {rapid_release_cmd}'
-      ' --enable-dns-access'
-      ' --autoscaling-profile=optimize-utilization'
-  )
-
-  enable_ip_alias = False
+    final_gcloud_args['--release-channel'] = 'rapid'
 
+  conditional_params = {}
   if args.private or args.authorized_networks is not None:
-    enable_ip_alias = True
-    command += ' --enable-master-authorized-networks --enable-private-nodes'
+    conditional_params['--enable-master-authorized-networks'] = True
+    conditional_params['--enable-private-nodes'] = True
+    conditional_params['--enable-ip-alias'] = True
 
   if system.accelerator_type == AcceleratorType['GPU']:
-    enable_ip_alias = True
-    command += (
-        ' --enable-dataplane-v2'
-        ' --enable-multi-networking --no-enable-autoupgrade'
-    )
+    conditional_params['--enable-dataplane-v2'] = True
+    conditional_params['--enable-multi-networking'] = True
+    conditional_params['--no-enable-autoupgrade'] = True
+    conditional_params['--enable-ip-alias'] = True
   else:
-    command += ' --location-policy=BALANCED --scopes=storage-full,gke-default'
-
+    conditional_params['--location-policy'] = 'BALANCED'
+    conditional_params['--scopes'] = 'storage-full,gke-default'
     if args.enable_pathways:
-      enable_ip_alias = True
-
-  if enable_ip_alias:
-    command += ' --enable-ip-alias'
+      conditional_params['--enable-ip-alias'] = True
 
   if args.enable_ray_cluster:
-    command += ' --addons RayOperator'
+    conditional_params['--addons'] = 'RayOperator'
 
   if args.enable_workload_identity or args.enable_gcsfuse_csi_driver:
-    command += f' --workload-pool={args.project}.svc.id.goog'
+    conditional_params['--workload-pool'] = f'{args.project}.svc.id.goog'
 
   addons = []
   if args.enable_gcsfuse_csi_driver:
@@ -1146,14 +1260,18 @@ def run_gke_cluster_create_command(
 
   if args.enable_lustre_csi_driver:
     addons.append('LustreCsiDriver')
-    command += ' --enable-legacy-lustre-port'
+    conditional_params['--enable-legacy-lustre-port'] = True
 
   if hasattr(args, 'enable_mtc') and args.enable_mtc:
     addons.append('HighScaleCheckpointing')
 
   if len(addons) > 0:
-    addons_str = ','.join(addons)
-    command += f' --addons={addons_str}'
+    conditional_params['--addons'] = ','.join(addons)
+
+  merge_conditional_params(conditional_params, final_gcloud_args)
+  user_parsed_args = parse_command_args_to_dict(args.custom_cluster_arguments)
+  process_gcloud_args(user_parsed_args, final_gcloud_args)
+  command = construct_gcloud_command_string(args.cluster, final_gcloud_args)
 
   return_code = run_command_with_updates(command, 'GKE Cluster Create', args)
   if return_code != 0:
diff --git a/src/xpk/commands/tests/unit/test_arg_parser.py b/src/xpk/commands/tests/unit/test_arg_parser.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a75b7935a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/xpk/commands/tests/unit/test_arg_parser.py
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+"""Unit tests for the arg_parser module in xpk.commands."""
+
+import unittest
+from src.xpk.commands.cluster import parse_command_args_to_dict
+
+
+class TestParseCommandArgsToDict(unittest.TestCase):
+  """Tests the parse_command_args_to_dict function from the cluster module."""
+
+  def test_empty_string(self):
+    self.assertEqual(parse_command_args_to_dict(''), {})
+
+  def test_simple_key_value_pairs(self):
+    result = parse_command_args_to_dict('--key1=value1 --key2=value2')
+    self.assertEqual(result, {'--key1': 'value1', '--key2': 'value2'})
+
+  def test_flag_with_space_value(self):
+    result = parse_command_args_to_dict('--key1 value1 --key2 value2')
+    self.assertEqual(result, {'--key1': 'value1', '--key2': 'value2'})
+
+  def test_boolean_flags(self):
+    result = parse_command_args_to_dict('--enable-feature --no-logs')
+    self.assertEqual(result, {'--enable-feature': True, '--no-logs': True})
+
+  def test_mixed_formats(self):
+    result = parse_command_args_to_dict(
+        '--project=my-project --zone us-central1 --dry-run'
+    )
+    self.assertEqual(
+        result,
+        {'--project': 'my-project', '--zone': 'us-central1', '--dry-run': True},
+    )
+
+  def test_quoted_values(self):
+    result = parse_command_args_to_dict(
+        '--description "My cluster with spaces" --name=test-cluster'
+    )
+    self.assertEqual(
+        result,
+        {'--description': 'My cluster with spaces', '--name': 'test-cluster'},
+    )
+
+  def test_no_double_hyphen_flags(self):
+    result = parse_command_args_to_dict('random-word -f --flag')
+    self.assertEqual(result, {'--flag': True})  # Only --flag should be parsed
+
+  def test_duplicate_keys_last_one_wins(self):
+    result = parse_command_args_to_dict('--key=value1 --key=value2')
+    self.assertEqual(result, {'--key': 'value2'})
+
+  def test_hyphenated_keys(self):
+    result = parse_command_args_to_dict('--api-endpoint=some-url')
+    self.assertEqual(result, {'--api-endpoint': 'some-url'})
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+  # Run python3 -m src.xpk.commands.tests.unit.test_arg_parser under the xpk folder.
+  unittest.main()
diff --git a/src/xpk/commands/tests/unit/test_gcloud_arg_processor.py b/src/xpk/commands/tests/unit/test_gcloud_arg_processor.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..efaa8ac3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/xpk/commands/tests/unit/test_gcloud_arg_processor.py
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+"""Unit tests for the gcloud_arg_parser module in xpk.commands."""
+
+import unittest
+from src.xpk.commands.cluster import process_gcloud_args
+
+
+class TestProcessGcloudArgs(unittest.TestCase):
+  """Tests the process_gcloud_args function from the cluster module."""
+
+  def test_add_new_argument(self):
+    final_args = {'--existing-key': 'existing-value'}
+    user_args = {'--new-key': 'new-value'}
+    process_gcloud_args(user_args, final_args)
+    self.assertEqual(
+        final_args,
+        {'--existing-key': 'existing-value', '--new-key': 'new-value'},
+    )
+
+  def test_override_existing_argument(self):
+    final_args = {'--common-key': 'old-value'}
+    user_args = {'--common-key': 'new-value'}
+    process_gcloud_args(user_args, final_args)
+    self.assertEqual(final_args, {'--common-key': 'new-value'})
+
+  def test_no_enable_flag_overrides_enable(self):
+    final_args = {'--enable-logging': True}
+    user_args = {'--no-enable-logging': True}
+    process_gcloud_args(user_args, final_args)
+    self.assertEqual(final_args, {'--no-enable-logging': True})
+    self.assertNotIn('--enable-logging', final_args)
+
+  def test_enable_flag_overrides_no_enable(self):
+    final_args = {'--no-enable-monitoring': True}
+    user_args = {'--enable-monitoring': True}
+    process_gcloud_args(user_args, final_args)
+    self.assertEqual(final_args, {'--enable-monitoring': True})
+    self.assertNotIn('--no-enable-monitoring', final_args)
+
+  def test_no_conflict(self):
+    final_args = {'--param1': 'value1'}
+    user_args = {'--param2': 'value2'}
+    process_gcloud_args(user_args, final_args)
+    self.assertEqual(final_args, {'--param1': 'value1', '--param2': 'value2'})
+
+  def test_empty_user_args(self):
+    final_args = {'--param1': 'value1'}
+    user_args = {}
+    process_gcloud_args(user_args, final_args)
+    self.assertEqual(final_args, {'--param1': 'value1'})
+
+  def test_complex_overrides(self):
+    final_args = {
+        '--zone': 'us-east1-b',
+        '--enable-ip-alias': True,
+        '--machine-type': 'n1-standard-4',
+        '--no-enable-public-ip': (
+            True  # This will be removed if --enable-public-ip is set
+        ),
+    }
+    user_args = {
+        '--zone': 'us-central1-a',  # Overrides
+        '--no-enable-ip-alias': True,  # Overrides --enable-ip-alias
+        '--disk-size': '200GB',  # New
+        '--enable-public-ip': True,  # Overrides --no-enable-public-ip
+    }
+    process_gcloud_args(user_args, final_args)
+    self.assertEqual(
+        final_args,
+        {
+            '--zone': 'us-central1-a',
+            '--no-enable-ip-alias': True,
+            '--machine-type': 'n1-standard-4',  # Not affected
+            '--disk-size': '200GB',
+            '--enable-public-ip': True,
+        },
+    )
+    self.assertNotIn('--enable-ip-alias', final_args)
+    self.assertNotIn('--no-enable-public-ip', final_args)
+
+  def test_disable_flag_is_added(self):
+    """
+    Tests that a --disable- flag from user_args is simply added to final_args
+    when no conflicting --enable- or --no-enable- flag exists.
+    """
+    final_args = {'--existing-flag': 'value'}
+    user_args = {'--disable-dataplane-v2': True}
+    process_gcloud_args(user_args, final_args)
+    self.assertEqual(
+        final_args, {'--existing-flag': 'value', '--disable-dataplane-v2': True}
+    )
+
+  def test_enable_flag_overrides_disable(self):
+    """
+    Tests that an --enable- flag from user_args overrides a --disable- flag
+    present in final_args.
+    """
+    final_args = {'--disable-logging': True}  # Existing disable flag
+    user_args = {'--enable-logging': True}  # User wants to enable
+    process_gcloud_args(user_args, final_args)
+    self.assertEqual(final_args, {'--enable-logging': True})
+    self.assertNotIn('--disable-logging', final_args)
+
+  def test_disable_flag_overrides_enable_from_user_args_order(self):
+    """
+    Tests that if --enable- is in final_args and --disable- is in user_args,
+    the --disable- from user_args takes precedence and removes the --enable-.
+    This is implied by the order of processing (user_args overwrite/remove final_args).
+    """
+    final_args = {'--enable-some-feature': True}
+    user_args = {'--disable-some-feature': True}
+    process_gcloud_args(user_args, final_args)
+    self.assertEqual(final_args, {'--disable-some-feature': True})
+    self.assertNotIn('--enable-some-feature', final_args)
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+  # Run python3 -m src.xpk.commands.tests.unit.test_gcloud_arg_processor under the xpk folder.
+  unittest.main()