GWADAR: The Gwadar Port, which started its operations about eight years ago, for the first time on Monday handled commercial containerised cargo for export of seafood.

M V Zi Jingson, a bulk-break vessel of the China Overseas Shipping Co (Cosco), which reached Gwadar port’s outer anchorage late Sunday evening, was allotted berth on Monday to load reefer containers, laden with sea-food.

The export shipment will be unloaded at Jebel Ali, Dubai, from where a larger ship will carry these reefer containers to Far-East with its expected destination to Malaysia and China.

The managing director of local company, Abdul Basir Qadir Bukhsh, whose first export shipment was handled at Gwadar port, told Dawn that for the last 20 years his company had been exporting seafood through Karachi.

Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Kamran Michael, speaking at a ceremony organised at the Gwadar port to see off the ship, assured that the government is committed to develop the port area for the benefit of the local people.

He said that the government holds Gwadar Port and the Gwadar City at the top of its development agenda as success of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) depends on it.

The minister said soon Gwadar will be connected with its hinterland through motorway M-8 and National Highway N-85, thereby providing connectivity to upcountry and beyond to Afghanistan and Central Asian states and western China.

The minister said that CPEC is the shared vision of the two friendly countries – Pakistan and China – and a very important pillar under the Chinese leadership’s vision “One Belt – One Road” which is compatible with Pakistan leadership’s “Vision 2025.”

Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) chairman Dostain Khan Jamaldini, highlighting the available facilities and services at the Gwadar port, said presently it was being run by China Overseas Ports Holding Co (COPHC).

He informed the dignitaries, who specially flew from Karachi with newsmen to attend the ceremony, that the Gwadar port had been handling imported cargo belonging to government, like wheat and fertiliser.

He said it was for the first time that the local catch of seafood was being exported from this port which is a significant development.

The significance of this shipment is that it comprises fish from Gwadar’s coastal area. The locals depend on fishing for their livelihood.

The next ship will depart on 18 of this month carrying another shipment of fish, he informed. The export of fish will revolutionize the lives of local fisher men, he said. He said that 2,281 acres had been acquired for establishing a tax-free zone.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2015

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