MARITIME MINISTER AND PM VOW TO MODERNIZE SEA PORTS.
During one-day visit of Prime Minister to Karachi, the Federal Minister Maritime Affairs Mr. Qaiser Ahmed Shaikh warmly welcomed Prime Minister and other Federal Ministers at KPT Head Office. During the visit, the Prime Minister was acquainted by Federal Minister Maritime Affairs about ongoing projects of KPT i.e Establishment of East – West Wharves Connectivity Link taking cognizance of the frequent traffic jams taking place at two critical choking points M. A. Jinnah Bridge and ICI intersection and restructuring of Oil Pier-I. He further briefed the Prime Minister that currently the supply of goods through containers is carried out from 11 pm to 6 am (07 hours) which should be 24 hours through different projects i.e Liyari Elevated Freight Corridor, Malir Expressway and Liyari Expressway. The Prime Minister ordered NHA to make feasability of the proposal.
Mr. Qaiser Shaikh stated that the government is actively working to establish efficient maritime routes, particularly to facilitate trade with Central Asian states, China, and other global partners through Pakistani ports.
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The Minister Maritime also acquainted the PM about revenue of KPT which increased from 02 billion to 10 billion and the efforts he is making to curtail expenses in form of salaries, pensions and unnecessary overtime.
The Federal Minister also briefed the Prime Minister about 13,000 acres of KPT land retrieved.
The Federal Minister Maritime highlighted the issue of customs and FBR where the customs officials put objections on consignments in the name of inspections which further causes delay in cargo shipment and emphasized FBR to use automated scanning system. The Minister further stressed that there should be liason between FBR, customs and Maritime Ministry to work on collective mechanism to uplift trade and blue economy which is missing.
The Prime Minister issued the directives while presiding the session in KPT to modernize sea ports by introducing scanners and restructuring the mechanism.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers M. Aurangzeb, Jam Kamal Khan, Ahad Khan Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman, KPT, PQA chairmen, terminal operators and others.
On the suggestion of Maritime Minister, the Prime Minister emphasised on connectivity of KPT via road and rail network for transhipment of goods.
The PM also agreed that Lyari Expressway should be operational 24/7 to functionalize shipment of goods from KPT to other cities. He stressed on linking the port to the Malir Expressway for efficient delivery of goods.
PM Shehbaz Sharif stressed the Port Qasim Authority to reduce charges for LNG cargo vessels and allign the same with international market.
Nonetheless, the PM also ordered comprehensive strategy to regulate the shipping lines and ordered PNSC to curtail their expenditures.
The Prime Minister was presented with Crest by the Maritime Minister and from KPT they embarked on for SAPT visit where the Prime Minister was briefed about new technologies and advanced scanners recently installed at the port terminal to align operations with international standards. During the visit, it was informed that the port has the capacity to handle up to 3.5 million containers annually.
PM Shehbaz expressed appreciation for the innovative operations implemented at Hutchison Port, South Asia Terminal.