08 March 2005	Tuesday	26 Muharram 1426

KARACHI, March 7: Chairman Karachi Port Trust (KPT) Vice Admiral Ahmad Hayat has said that a deep draft container terminal at the Karachi Port is imperative if it has to graduate to a hub port and shed its feeder port status.

Speaking at ground-breaking ceremony of Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT) Phase III here on Monday, the KPT chairman said to meet the future challenges and accommodate such big vessels which were presently on drawing boards the trust was planning for establishment of an 18-metre deep draft container terminal at the Keamari Gronye.

He informed the largely-attended ceremony where Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was the chief guest that a total of 10 berths were being envisaged in three stages and the terminal would have 3,500 metres quay wall. The first phase, he said, would see a 700 metres quay wall complemented by two break waters and a 600-metre wide channel for smooth turning of ships.

He disclosed that a large number of foreign companies were showing keen interest in this project for which dedicated road shows were currently going on for interested parties.

The admiral said that for augmenting this terminal into a cargo village, initially on 350 acres, extendable to 1,250 acres, in port's western back waters was on the threshold. "This project will initially cost $250 million and will provide vital storage space to the port, where cargo is on the increase. It will also provide bonded facilities as a regional distribution point on the lines of Jabel Ali." He said since ports were development and project intensive entities a host of development projects were currently underway and many more were on the anvil.

"Cutting costs is a major challenge in any setup and at KPT expenditures have been controlled and curtailed without compromising efficiency and smooth operations," he maintained. He further said that in the last three years the KPT had reduced its workforce from 9,020 to 5,492, commensurately cutting down our payroll.

He said nearly all KPT berths were currently dredged to their maximum designed depths. "Yet very soon the KPT will embark on contract dredging, to start the ball rolling on our two capital projects and it is also purchasing two dredgers for which tenders are being opened this week," he added.

He said two container terminals - KICT and the PICT - in the private sector were presently running smoothly and efficiently and two more berths were being handed over to KICT for expansion.

"KICT has been the pioneer terminal at KPT and an associate in our progress towards forming partnerships with the private sector. Phase one and two of KICT project saw an investment of $90 million and Phase III will be receiving additional injection of $60 million, with $15 million contribution of KPT, making a ground total of $150 million," the KPT chairman added.