April 23, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24, 1427

Like all port cities, Karachi has its own dynamics to sustain its economic growth. Besides generating its own internal economic activity the city keeps getting boost from every dollar activity that takes place any where in the hinterland or out destinations of country’s exports.

Since ports operate as ‘windows’ amongst nations for exchange of goods and services and had been also facilitating different cultures to interact with each other the coastal cities always remained under tremendous pressures. They are the first to adopt changing global trends and technologies to cater to the rising needs of nations.

Karachi houses two premier ports — Karachi and Qasim — is no exception. Over the last 57 years even during difficult economic times the city had shown remarkable resilience.

During the periods of economic dips unemployed youth from all over the country head towards Karachi. It has even accommodated people from neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

When the economy is back on track and export sector expands Karachi handles the entire external trade for the country. As almost all goods and services cross the city and every dollar activity gives impetus to various segments of trade and services. Similarly, every dollar import also carries an impact.

On the other hand it puts the city’s infrastructure under pressure as it has to match the demand on it. This generates more economic activity.

For handling external trade any port city, besides, developing necessary infrastructure also needs some specialised services to channelise and handle the cargo (exports and imports), and also move them from port city to its different destinations spread all over the hinterland. There, however, is a need to develop huge warehousing and storage facilities for dry and liquid bulk cargoes. Similarly, specialised services like stevedoring, clearing and forwarding, customs agents, shipping agents and shipping companies, insurance and banking and above all transport system are also needed to look after this continuous flow of cargo from within and outside the country.

Despite several areas that need improvement, Karachi Port has registered 44 per cent growth in cargo handling – dry, general and bulk — during the eight months (July-Feb) of the current fiscal owing to rapid increase in external trade. It also recorded steep rise in container handling which increased by around 25 per cent over the same period last fiscal.

According to official data the port, in all, handled 14.609 million tons of cargo during the period under review. The general cargo increased to 9.656 million tons or 36.19 per cent and dry bulk cargo rose to 4.953 million tons or 62.07 per cent over the corresponding period of last year.

Similarly, container handling also jumped by 25 per cent to 0.717 million TEUs from 0.574 million TEUs the same period last year.

Port Qasim also registered 10.5 per cent increase in containers handling during the period to 0.423 million TEUs compared to 0.383 million TEUs over the corresponding period of last year. Liquid bulk cargo rose 11.7 per cent to 0.5787 million tons from 0.518 million tons recorded the same period last year. However, dry cargo handling declined to 3.827 million tons from 4.347 million tons over the corresponding period last year.

According to some estimates Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT) at Karachi witnesses a movement of around 1,000 trucks of average capacity of 25 tons daily. Similarly, Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT) records around 1,500 trucks moving out of the terminal daily. The Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT) witnesses movement of around 1,500 trucks daily.

Besides, a very large number of tanker lorries carrying liquid bulk cargo such as edible oil, POL products and chemicals also make their way out of the two ports of the city to upcountry destinations. Liquid products like molasses and ethanol also pass through the city for export in very large quantities.

Therefore, there is constant demand of more workforce, capital goods and allied services. This indirectly means more demand for housing, water, power, food supplies and transport.

District profiles

IT is an accepted fact that quality of economic planning depends on the quality of information it is based on. In Sindh like in other parts of the country available data is neither credible nor updated.

Recently, the Sindh government has initiated a project to prepare profile of all districts of the province. If done scientifically and efficiently within a reasonable timeframe, this could bring about a qualitative change in the exercise of policy formation and economic planning.

The profile will provide detailed information regarding economic, administrative, demographic, institutional, political, social and cultural life in a district. It would also identify potentials and bottlenecks. — A.S.