KARACHI, Dec 6: The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has pre-qualified four companies for the first terminal of Pakistan Deep Water Container Port (PDWCP) being built at a cost of $550 million. It will be world’s first terminal with a draft of 18 meters to be developed by public private partnership.

According to the official sources the four terminal operators, who have been pre-qualified by the KPT after getting approval and evaluation from the PDWCP consultant, have been asked to include a local firm or financier as their partner with a minimum ten per cent share in the venture.

The KPT invited Expressions of Interest (EoIs) from terminal operators for the PDWCP with August 18, 2006 as last date for receiving pre-qualification documents. However, on the intervention of the FPCCI the date was extended to September 19. In all nine leading terminal operators submitted their pre-qualification applications.

The Board of Trustees of the Karachi Port in its meeting held on November 15, gave the approval to pre-qualify four companies--M/s Hutchison Port Holding, Hong Kong; Dubai Port World, Dubai; PSA International Singapore; and Maersk-APM Denmark. They received confirmation in the next board meeting held on November 28.

Six Pakistani firms M/s PICT, Port World Logistics, Jahangir Siddiqui Group, Mega and Forbes, KASB Securities and Megatech Ltd have also participated with foreign companies in different consortia.

Haskoning Scott Wilson UK, are the KPT’s consultants on the PDWCP. The consultants hired the services of Edward Ted Liang, international port transport economist and World Bank consultant, who presented his evaluation of pre-qualification to the KPT board on November 15. He briefed in detail the response of the prequalification, evaluation criteria, information by applicant, points scored, applications’ details, conclusion and his recommendations.

According to details in the first phase the KPT will spent $350 million and $200 million will be invested by the private sector terminal operator. It will have four berths, which could accommodate mother-ships of super Panamax class.

The PDWCP could easily become the hub port for the region as it would be in a position to accommodate super-Panamax container carriers with a capacity of over 14,000 Teus.

In the second phase, which will take the total cost of the PDWCP to around $1.2 billion there will be six more berths, which will also have 18 meters draft and it would be in a position to handle around 4 million Teus per annum out of which one million boxes will be of trans-shipment cargo.