KARACHI, March 9: With hardly 10 days to go for the official opening of the Gwadar Port, ship agents and cargo consultants await the announcement of port tariff by the Gwadar Port Authority.

They have urged the authority to announce tariff for the port scheduled to be inaugurated on March 20 at the earliest as shipping companies need at least three months to plan their cargoes.

Talking to Dawn on Thursday, they said several investors already in the shipping business have planned investment in the sector following operation of the port, but are awaiting information about the tariff and range of facilities, including cargo handling at the new port built by the Chinese.

Meanwhile, a senior official of Gwadar Port Authority told Dawn on telephone from Gwadar that the tariff would be determined by the Singapore Port Authority, which is presently busy in making arrangements for the inauguration ceremony scheduled for March 20.

He, however, said that the tariff would be announced within a month.

A former marketing manager of Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT) at Port Qasim Captain, Muzaffar Ali, said marketing of cargo for the new port should have started much earlier so that once the port is ready in all respects to accept cargo it may become fully functional.

Recalling the start of Pakistan’s first modern container terminal at Port Qasim, he said that marketing of cargo for the terminal was initiated about two to three years before the terminal started operation.

Information on the facilities available at the new terminal, including cargo handling, berthing, night navigation, storage and the stage of development of the terminal were regularly despatched to the major shipping lines across the world.

This was done to facilitate them to plan cargo well in advance.

Captain Muzaffar felt that the Gwadar Port due to its geographical location would work as the main transhipment port for cargoes destined for Dubai and Karachi Port.

Mother vessels from US, Europe and the Far East will discharge cargoes here destined for Dubai and Karachi at the Gwadar Port for onward despatch through feeder vessels.

This would save a lot of time and cost for ships coming to the area.

He further said that a competitive tariff of the port would also attract shipping lines to discharge cargoes here instead of cruising to Dubai and Karachi and leave for the next port for loading.

The former Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT) marketing manager revealed that many investors, who were in the shipping business but left the arena for lack of incentives and opportunities, were planning to buy ships to start a shuttle service between Gwadar Port and the Karachi Port.

A leading ship agent said on condition of anonymity that it will take the port six to eight months to start cargo handling after the official opening as the gantry cranes, post-panamic rubber-tyre cranes, fork lifters and other handing equipment have not yet installed. Six to eight months are required to get this equipment after an order has been placed.

Masood Baghpati, a leading ship owner, expressed the hope that the Gwadar Port would give a new lease of life to shipping activity in the country, which has failed to develop a mercantile fleet of its own.