Gwadar - A Jewel in the Crown

[Spring Onion]

ICCI welcomes establishment of Gawadar refinery project

ISLAMABAD, Nov 2 (APP): The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and
Industry here on Friday appreciated the agreement for establishment
of oil refinery in Gawadar to overcome the deficiency of oil products
in the country.
Addressing the executive members of the chamber, ICCI
President, Nasir Khan said that such mega projects will bring
prosperity in Baluchistan as well as in the whole country adding
that it would also help decrease unemployment.
He was of the view that 2006 and 2007 were the years of high
oil prices which hurt the economies of many countries adding that
demand of oil was rapidly increasing in Pakistan also due to
expansion of economy.
He said that Pakistan would need 18 million tonnes oil by 2010
and at present, the country's five refineries have been producing
11.2 million oil products a year.
"If Pakistan wants to sustain its high economic growth it
would have to address energy needs," The ICCI president said and
added that Gawadar refinery, which will be Pakistan's biggest
refinery, will have the capacity to process 300,000 barrels of oil
per day.
He said that Pakistan can increase its interaction with the
Middle East and Central Asian countries after the completion of the
Gawadar refinery project.
He was of the view that strategic location of Balochistan can
play significant role in helping the country emerge as a potential
energy resource for all Asia.
"The province is ideally situated at place where from the
energy and trading needs of other countries in the Asian region can
be catered easily," he remarked and added that Gawadar was situated
atop the shipping lane through which at least 60 per cent of the
world's oil passes.
Among others, the members who attended the meeting included
Vice President ICCI, Muhammad Hussain, Munawar Mughal, Mian Shaukat
Masood, Khalid Malik, Munawar Iqbal, Saif-ur-Rehman, Abdul Ghaffar
Chaudhry and Majid Shabbir.

APP

 

[Neo]

Tax exemptions for Gwadar ​

(November 17 2007): The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet has extended the scope of tax exemptions granted to Port Singapore Authority International (PSAI) and AKD Consortium for the operation of Gwadar Port, says a Recorder Report.

According to an official quoted in the report, the Gwadar Port proposal was not on the agenda till the night before, and that it was brought up at the eleventh hour, presumably by the Ministry of Ports and Shipping, as the outgoing members of ECC were said to be familiar with the details of the concession agreement.

The ministry reminded the ECC that on 1st February, 2007 the committee had allowed the following exemptions: (i) Tax Holiday on the corporate income of the three novated companies to be established for the operation of Gwadar Port for twenty years; (ii) Exemption from import duties on materials and equipment needed for the construction and operation of Gwadar Port and development of a Free Zone for a period of 40 years; (iii) Exemptions from duties on ship bunker oil for Gwadar for 40 years; and (iv) Exemption from local and provincial taxes for 20 years. Since the concession agreement had granted some more exemptions, the Port Ministry wanted to obtain ECC approval for them.

The additional concessions are: (i) Tax Holiday for the concession-holder, ie Port Singapore Authority International, on corporate income for a period of twenty years; (ii) Exemption of the Lenders from Income Tax on interest and from stamp duties in respect of the Financing Agreement; (iii) Exemption of the three operation companies, established under the said Agreement, from sales tax; and (iv) Exemption of material and equipment required for construction of the project from sales tax for forty years. The latest ECC approval is now in line with the concession agreement signed earlier in the year between Gwadar Port Authority and PSAI/AKD.

Unfortunately the reason for the additional approval was not explained properly at the subsequent press briefing. This created a misperception in some circles as if the PSAI/AKD was being accorded some extra favour. This is not the case.

The state of affairs at Gwadar Port are far from satisfactory and progress of work is extremely slow. The crucial issue of rail and road connectivity is yet to be fully addressed.

For instance, despite repeated directives, the Railway Ministry had taken as long as three years to prepare the feasibility report on the Rs 70 billion, 961-km Gwadar rail track connecting Gwadar to the main network in the Quetta-Kohi-Taftan section. According to the plan, the rail link will connect Gwadar with Turbat, Hushab, Panjgor, Nag, Bestima, Surab, Kalat and Mastung. The Gwadar-Mastung track would bring Turbat, Panjgor, Bestima and Kalat into the main line loop.

Further, the Communication Ministry too has yet to complete the road network. Rail and road connectivity is a key pre-requisite for completion and early operationalization of a mega project. The delay in the project is being attributed partly to the fact that the route runs through restive areas of Balochistan. At present the Coastal Highway from Karachi is the only connection to the Port. That too has been washed away at several places.

It is most unfortunate that the Navy and Coast Guard have refused to hand over the land adjacent to the port despite Presidential Orders and Federal Cabinet approval. Additional land to be given for establishing warehouses and industries, as committed in the agreement, is yet to be purchased by the Balochistan authorities and handed to the concession holders.

The importance of Gwadar Port lies in the fact that over 95 percent of Pakistan's freight trade is sea-borne, and there are powerful regional players such as China which are keenly interested in the mega project. China had given Pakistan $198 million in aid to build Gwadar Port's first phase, and later agreed to provide another $500 million in aid for the second phase.

It is said that China's interest in Gwadar Port owes to the fact that its eastern seaboard is located some 3,500 kilometers from Kashghar, western China's main city, while the distance from Kashghar to Gwadar on Balochistan's Mekran coast is only 1,500 kilometers. There would thus be a huge cost advantage to China using Gwadar as the gateway port for the western China region, instead of its far-off eastern ports.

Pakistan yearned for the vast energy resources of Central Asia, and Gwadar is going to serve as the main hub of the energy corridor. Work on the mega project should, therefore, be speeded up, as the port can serve as a pivot of our trade corridor as well. Until the Keamari Groyne project at KPT is completed, Gwadar Port can accommodate larger vessels which at present cannot call on Karachi Port or Port Qasim.

It needs to be understood that Gwadar's locational potential can only be exploited if the requisite investment of foreign capital is made and there is peace in this area. At present Gwadar is a backwater fishermen outpost. In the present state it is of no commercial value. Without availability of the tax exemptions and promulgation of laws for Special Economic Zone - Gwadar's potential cannot be exploited.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

[Neo]

The non-functional Gwadar port​

By Syed Fazl-e-Haider

The Gwadar port, inaugurated in March this year, is still not operational. Earlier it was expected to become functional by the end of this month or beginning of next year. But unresolved issues including port tariff are holding up the operation. If the things move smoothly, one estimate is that the port may take at least six months to start handling shipping traffic.

Fazal-ur-Rehman, the director of Gwadar port affairs at government secretariat in Islamabad, told this scribe on telephone that the port is ready to handle ships but he did not say how many ships carrying cargo are expected at the port in the initial stage of its operations.

He agreed that the port would be operational next year but he did set any target date. The port operator is presently working out a competitive port tariff, he added.

According to the official sources, the ball is currently in the court of Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), the port operator and it has to decide all issues related to the port operations. Under the concession agreement, the operator is to set up three different companies to look after various activities at the port, including cargo operation, marine operation and the free economic zone.

The concession includes obligations to handle mixed and general cargo, containers, dangerous goods, dry bulk, cars and ferries and the responsibility to provide and operate bunkering and water supply facilities for visiting ships.

Tariff: The most important issue is about fixing the port tariff, which has not yet been announced by the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA). After ceremonial opening of the port, the PSA held preliminary meetings with the authorities concerned for fixing tariffs and port charges. Critics say that marketing of cargo for the port should have started much earlier so that once the port was ready to accept cargo, it could become functional.

Since the official opening of the port, the ship agents and cargo consultants have been waiting for the announcement of port tariff. The shipping companies, it is stated, would take at least three months to plan their cargo movements.

Foreign mining firms working in Balochistan, have shown interest in bringing their cargo through the new port. In May, a delegation comprising Canadian, Australian and Chinese companies had approached the ministry of ports and shipping and the GPA to find out the operational status of the port. The delegation was informed that the port tariff would be announced in a period of one month. Nothing has happened so far.

A competitive tariff is needed to attract shipping lines to discharge cargo at Gwadar instead of cruising to Dubai and Karachi and leave for the next port for loading. Gwadar is expected to work as the main trans-shipment port. Mother vessels from US, Europe and the Far East will have the facility to discharge cargo destined for Dubai and Karachi at the Gwadar port for onward dispatch through feeder vessels. This would save time and cost for ships coming to the area.

Cargo marketing: So far, no information on the facilities at the new terminal including cargo handling, berthing, night navigation, storage etc., has been sent by the GPA to major shipping lines across the world. It is necessary to facilitate the shipping companies to plan cargo well in advance.

The marketing of cargo for the container terminal at Port Qasim was initiated abut 2-3 years before the terminal started operation.

Handling equipment: Critics say that the port was not ready to start cargo handling at the time of its inauguration in March, as the handling equipment including gantry cranes, post-panamic rubber-tyre cranes and fork lifters were not installed by that time. The installation of the handling equipment took almost eight months. After the inauguration, the Singaporean operator had ordered equipments for the handling of trans-shipment of containers from Singapore. The equipment included two Post Panamax Gantry Cranes of 45 tons capacity, four Rubber Tyre Gantries (RTGs), six tractor-trailers and one reach stacker.

At official opening of Gwadar port in March, the authorities had managed the berthing of three ships at the new port for a while. The port authorities had requested the owner of MV Yazdan, which was anchored at the Karachi Shipyard for more than a month for repairs, to take their vessel to Gwadar. The ship carrying several containers (some empty and some filled with goods) moved from Karachi port for offloading at Gwadar port. Similarly, the docking of MV Sibbi of Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) was also managed for the port’s opening ceremony.

Operational side: The operational side of the mega seaport project poses the mind-boggling questions for the potential investors and shipping companies interested to use the Gwadar port facilities.

On the operational side, the first multi-purpose terminal at Gwadar has already been completed, with a quay length of 600 metres and a depth of 14.5 metres, with a sizable backup area. Cranes, other terminal equipment and tugs have been acquired. At the time of inauguration, there were five installed cranes at the berths and two mobile cranes, but they could only handle bulk cargo.

Besides, there were two tugs and two pilot boats with one survey and one working boat and a mooring boat. Gwadar is the only port with a RoRo facility which means any heavy moving cargo could directly land on the berth without using cranes. It has ultra-modern satellite system with VHF/HF facility.

Singaporean operators plan to bring second-hand two gantry cranes and two RTGs to gear up operations at the port.

The non-functional Gwadar port -DAWN - Business; December 24, 2007

 

[Neo]

Gwadar utilises healthcare facilities best: survey​

* Health minister wants new committee to improve surveys

ISLAMABAD: Gwadar has come to the top among 98 districts of Pakistan in terms of availability, coverage and delivery of healthcare facilities with focus on immunisation and reproductive healthcare.

According to a Health Ministry survey, Qilla Abdulla district is at the bottom as it has the lowest level of health facilities. The Health Ministry officials told Daily Times that a meeting to review the details of the survey was also held on Friday.

They said the ministry’s National Health Policy Unit had conducted the survey for ‘Health System Performance Assessment’ and the districts were ranked on the basis of this survey. They said the study aimed to assess the health services delivery system in less-developed districts and to rank these districts on the basis of their health system.

They said the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Federally-Administrated Northern Areas (FANA) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) were not surveyed.

They said 15 districts fell in the category of “highest level of performance”, 42 in “high performing districts”, 33 in “medium level of performance” and eight in the “low performing districts” category.

They said Gwadar was the top-performing district and Qilla Abdullah stood at the bottom of the “low performing districts” category.

They said four districts of Punjab had been ranked in the “very high performance category”, five in “high performance category” and only Pakpattan fell in the “medium performing category”. These categories denote Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI).

There were separate categories to assess the Reproductive Health (RH) performance. In these categories, they said, five districts of Punjab showed very high and none showed medium level of performance. Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Jhelum, Khushab and Attock were among the top 10 high performing districts both in the EPI and RH categories.

In Sindh, seven districts stood among the top 10 high performing districts in both categories. Mirpur Khas was on the top in the RH category but at the bottom in the EPI category, they said. Three districts performing well in EPI were not among top 10 in the RH category.

Changhi district in Balochistan clinched the highest marks in the RH category but was not among the top 10 in the EPI category. Similarly, Quetta was not among the top 10 districts in the RH category.

Seven districts of NWFP were among the top 10 in both the EPI and RH categories. Chitral was on the top in the EPI category but could not qualify for the RH top 10.

Nowshera was topped the RH category but was not among the top 10 in EPI category. Provincial capital Peshawar was among the top 10 in the RH category but not in the EPI category. Technical committee: During the meeting, Health Minister Ejaz Rahim ordered the formation of a technical committee to suggest ways to improve the system of such studies in the future. He directed the health secretary to share the findings of the survey with provinces and districts and sought their comments and suggestions on it.

He said future studies should cover wider dimensions of the healthcare system’s performance. He called for collaboration and coordination between the Statistical Bureau and the National Health Information Resource Centre.

Rahim and population welfare minister co-chaired the meeting. Health Secretary Khusnood Akthar Lashari, the World Bank Mission population welfare secretary and officials of both ministries attended the meeting.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[MOSABJA]

I cant wait to see GWADAR port.Can some one enligthen me that when GWADER PORT would generate how much REVNUE.I mean to sa in 2012 How much would it earn.in 2020 how much and so one.

When is it going to be a full fledge port???????????

Dont forget AMERICANS and INDIANS sitting in AFGHANISTAN they will not let s build us the PORT by supporting BLA.So development of GWADER relies on victory of TALIBAN in AFGHANISTAN and ending of baloch insurgency.

 

[khanz]

baloch insurgency is pretty much dead with bugti apart from one gas line being attacked there has been no acttacks there at all when was the last time soldiers were attacked or engineers kidnapped when was the last time balochistan was in the news now.Pak army put it down for good.FATA and Waziristan is the main problem.

 

[Neo]

Equipment imported for uplift of Gwadar port exempted from GST​

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday allowed general sales tax (GST) exemption for a period of 40 years on the import as well as supply of materials and equipments for construction and operation of Gwadar Port and development of Free Zone for Gwadar Port.

This exemption would also be available on Ship Bunker Oils bought and sold to the ships calling on visiting Gwadar port by the operating companies having concession agreement with the Gwadar port authority.

This exemption would be subject to some conditionalities and in this regard the tax authorities have notified a detailed procedure to be followed by the Gwadar Port operating companies, notified through S.R.O. 115(I)/2008 issued here.

Conditions and procedure for imports. This exemption shall be admissible only to those companies which hold the Concession Agreement; Ministry of Ports and Shipping shall certify in the prescribed manner and format as per Annex-I that the imported materials and equipments are bonafide requirement for construction and operation of Gwadar port and development of free zone for the port. The authorised officer of that ministry shall furnish all relevant information online to Pakistan Customs Computerized System (PACCS) against a specific user ID and password obtained under section 155D of the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969). In already computerized Collectorate or Customs station, where the PACCS is not operational, the project director or any other person authorised by the Collector in this behalf shall enter the requisite information in the customs computerised system on daily basis, whereas entry of the data obtained from the customs stations which have not yet been computerised shall be made on weekly basis, provided that this condition shall not apply to ship bunker oils; and the goods so imported shall not be sold or disposed of without prior approval of the FBR and payment of sales tax at the time of import, provided that this condition shall not apply to ship bunker oils.

Conditions and procedure for local supply. The exemption shall be admissible only to these companies, which hold Concession Agreement; for claiming exemption on goods, which are otherwise taxable in Pakistan, the operating companies will purchase the materials and equipments for the construction of Gwadar Port and development of free zone for Gwadar Port from the sales tax registered persons only; (iii) invoice of the exempt supply, containing the particulars required under section 23 of the aforesaid Act, shall for each supply be issued by the registered person to the operating company mentioning thereon that the said invoice is being issued under this notification; a monthly statement summarising all the particulars of the supplies made in the month against invoices issued to the operating companies shall be prepared in triplicate by the registered persons making the exempt supplies and shall be signed by the authorised person of the registered person.

All three copies of the said signed monthly statement shall be verified by the registered person from the person authorised to receive the supplies in the office of operating company, confirming that supplies mentioned in the monthly statement have been duly received; after verification from the operating company, original copy of the monthly statement will be retained by the registered person, duplicate by the operating company and the triplicate provided by the registered person to the collector of sales tax having jurisdiction, by twentieth day of the month following the month in which exempt supplies to the operating companies were made; and the registered person making the exempt supplies shall keep the aforesaid record for presentation to the sales tax department as and when required to do so.

Before certifying, the authorised officer of the Ministry of Ports and Shipping shall ensure that the goods are genuine, bonafide requirement for construction and operation of Gwadar port and development of free zone and that the same are not manufactured locally, the SRO adds.

In case of clearance through PACCS the above information shall be furnished on line against a specific user ID and password obtained under section 155D of the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), tax authorities clarified.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Neo]

Gwadar to serve as trade, energy corridor: Durrani ​

WASHINGTON (February 15 2008): The newly constructed Gwadar deep-sea port and development of extensive infrastructure providing regional linkages would help to transform Pakistan into a trade and energy corridor, Ambassador to the United States, Mahmud Ali Durrani, said.

He told a gathering of students, experts and diplomats at John Hopkins University that Pakistan, through development of the strategically located modern port in the southern Balochistan, was poised to serve as a gateway for commerce and transportation among South Asia, energy-rich but landlocked Central Asia, China and the oil-rich Gulf countries.

Among the major projects being materialised under a master plan, the ambassador listed modernising of highways, shipping, better border terminals, establishment of rail and road network, banking system, insurance, custom clearance, freight management, trucking, increasing efficiency of logistics chain and telecommunication connectivity.

He was confident that with continued economic upsurge and sustained inflow of investment, Pakistan would be able to carry out multi-billion dollars projects in time and utilise Gwadar port's key location to the best economic advantage for its people and the region.

"Any land-based trade between the Gulf region and South Asian states can at best take place through Pakistan. Pakistan's proximity to the Gulf region, Iran, Afghanistan, China and Central Asia makes all of us natural trading partners, on the East, Pakistan is the ideal approach for shipment of Indian goods to Afghanistan and the Central Asian markets," he observed.

In the context of the country's potential to serve as energy corridor, he said, the most economical trans-shipment of fuel from energy-rich Gulf, Iran, and Turkmenistan to energy-deficient India would best transit through Pakistan.

This, he added, was particularly so in respect of natural gas pipelines from Iran and Turkmenistan. He also underlined the importance of security and stability in the region for realisation of ambitious economic development plans.

Ambassador Durrani said the launch of unprecedented development activity in Balochistan had already started accruing benefits to the local people as the pursuance of projects had generated a lot of employment opportunities for them and stepped up overall pace of progress.

To a question, the ambassador stressed that Pakistan had designed the Gwadar for trade and not as some sort of military corridor. "We have designed it purely for trade through road and rail infrastructure," he stated. Pakistan, he said, had signed a quadrilateral agreement with China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan for transit trade facilitation, which had been operational since 2004.

He informed the gathering that Singapore Port Authority had been awarded a 40-year contract to operate Gwadar port, constructed with the help of China last year. The envoy spoke of plans for future development of the port, which is expected to capture one-third of the national cargo traffic market by 2055, translating into 350 million tones.

Gwadar would also emerge as a major industrial and exports zone following its notification as a tax-free economic zone, he added. Fredrick Star, chairman of the Central Asian Caucuses Institute, moderated the presentation and praised Pakistan's vision for development as inspiring and remarkable.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

[asaad-ul-islam]

finally, alhamdulillah, there's some news about Gwadar. Insha'Allah, it will be a success.

 

[Neo]

Senate body assails Gwadar Port delay​

ISLAMABAD, Feb 25: The Senate Standing Committee on Ports and Shipping on Monday underlined the need for overcoming deficiencies and removing hurdles to make the Gwadar Port a regional hub by attracting the transit and trans-shipment trade.

The committee, which met here with Senator Gulshan Saeed in the chair, discussed in detail the Gwadar Port project.

The committee expressed its concern over the delay in making the port fully operational and directed the ministry to streamline its efforts and remove hurdles to make the port functional.

It suggested that road and rail connectivity with the port should be completed as soon as possible in order to connect it with other parts of the country.

Members of the committee were of the view that a developed road and railway network would help generate business activities in the area, thereby paving the way for improved socio-economic conditions for the people of the area.

The committee noted that although the operation of the port was assigned to the Port of Singapore Authority by an agreement, no significant development had been made so far. A three-member sub-committee consisting of Senators Dr Abdul Malik (convener) and Syed Javed Ali Shah and Dr Mohammad Ismail Buledi was constituted to look into the issues which had prevented the port from becoming fully operational.

The committee noted with regret that electricity had not been provided to the port to carryout its routine activities, and directed the ministry to take up the issue at an appropriate level as the power produced by generators increased the cost of the project. The committee decided that senior officials of the National Highway Authority, Railways and electricity would be summoned in its next meeting to ascertain the position with a view to expediting the work on road network, railway link and power supply to the port which would help in making it fully operational.

The committee opposed a proposal to recruit more officials for the port, saying it would be a burden on the national exchequer and suggested that recruitment should be made when the port became fully operational.

Earlier, Gwadar Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral M Ehsan Saeed stated that all port infrastructures had been completed and work on the housing complex was in progress. He said that several other projects were under consideration.

Member of the committee were glad when informed that the first ship would arrive at the port in mid-March.

Senate body assails Gwadar Port delay -DAWN - Top Stories; February 26, 2008

 

[Neo]

Gwadar Port to see first docking on Monday ​

Saturday, March 08, 2008

ISLAMABAD: A vessel carrying imported wheat will be the first to dock at the newly refurbished berths of Gwadar Port.

Port and shipping ministry officials in a meeting with the Federal Food Committee (FFC) assured that berthing of this vessel would not damage the port and its cargo would be safely offloaded, an official attending the meeting told The News on Friday.

The official further said that the ports and shipping officials have only given verbal assurances without any concrete evidence. The vessel carrying imported wheat from Canada is scheduled to berth at the Gwadar Port on March 10 and experts have warned the ministry of ports and shipping that it may damage the berth. “We are shifting this vessel from Karachi to Gwadar, as Karachi Port is crowded with a number of vessels waiting at outer anchorage for berthing,” a ports and shipping ministry official who wanted not be named said.

MINFAL has arranged the distribution of imported wheat allocating entire shipment to Balochistan govt, as its allocation to other provinces might put unnecessary burden of transportations charges on provinces, a MINFAL official said. Also NWFP is facing difficulty in getting transport to lift allocated wheat from TCP warehouses, he added.

Gwadar Port to see first docking on Monday

 

[Neo]

Gwadar port may face problems in handling of first shipment​

KARACHI: The administration of Gwadar Port is likely to face a number of problems including shortage of heavy machineries, technical staff and skilled labour to handle first wheat cargo ship to be anchored at this port on March 10.

The administration of the port has sought help from Ministry of Ports and Shipping and Karachi Port Trust (KPT). They also demand for required machinery, technical staff and labour, sources told Daily Times.

M. V. Pos Glory carrying 70,000 metric tonnes wheat from Russia is expected to reach the port sometime from March 10.

Sources said, “a local company has chartered this ship and is having problems as it is carrying heavy shipment that cannot be brought at Gwadar Port.” “Under these circumstances it is expected that 22,900 metric tonnes of wheat would be discharged into another ship near off port area to avoid any mishap. Now M.V. Pos Glory ship will bring only 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat at Gwadar port.”

When Daily Times approached key official of the shipping company, he said that for last two weeks there are rumours circulating, the ship will not anchor at the Gwadar Port as such heavy vessels cannot anchor at this port. These are all speculations, as the vessel carrying 72,900 MT wheat is due to reach on 10 March and can anchor at the port, he added.

On the issue of discharging the wheat on another ship he said “Due to the safety concern it has been advised to discharge approximately 9,000 tonnes of wheat into another ship but this advise is under consideration and this decision is yet to finalised”. He further said that to be on the safe side the port has arranged three tugs instead of two for the ship and everybody involved in this operation is fully prepared to handle it. As this is the first vessel to anchor, therefore there are some safety considerations and if final decision is to discharge some of the wheat then the substitute would be arranged in a week time and this would not have a major effect on price.

He said, no one was willing to bring any vessel on the Gwadar port but Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has taken this bold step. No one realises that due to this step the port would be finally operational. Harboring the ship at this port is also cutting costs by an amount of $1,239,300.

Although when Daily Times approached the Chairman Gwadar Port he said he is unaware of this issue and the right person to contact is MD Operation. When DT contacted him he refused to give any comments on this issue.

The largest deep-water port is being operational after one year of its inauguration. Initially the port will be used as captive cargo or for trans-shipment purposes only.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Neo]

‘Road, rail links be set up for Gwadar’​

ISLAMABAD: Road and rail links with the Gwadar Port must be developed and completed speedily along with other facilities to realise its full potential particularly with regards to facilitating exports so that it could emerge as a major economic hub in the region, observed the Senate Standing Committee on Ports & Shipping, which met at the Parliament House under the Chairpersonship of Senator. Gulshan Saeed on Monday.

Senate Standing Committee on Ports and Shipping on Monday constituted a 3-member Committee to act as an intermediary between National Highway Authority (NHA) and local population / influentials to develop road and rail links with the Gwadar Port. Senator Dr. Abdul Malik heads the committee

Other members of the sub committee include senators Dr. Muhammad Ismail Buledi and Mir Israrullah Khan to sort out issues with the locals especially regarding acquisition of land and security problems in Balochistan to develop road and rail links for Gwadar Port.

They called upon the Government to accord the highest priority to the project.

The Chairman NHA, in his briefing to the Committee, stated that road connectivity with the hinterland is key to market the Port for transit trade with Afghanistan, Central Asian Republics and China.

The road linkages to Gwadar comprise the following sectors; Gwadar-Turbat-Hoshab-Panjgur-Nag-Basima-Surab (N-85) links Gwadar to N-25 RCD Highway at Surab. The NHA has awarded contract for up-gradation of this federalised road to the FWO. This road shall connect Gwadar to N-85 & N-25- RCD Highway at Khuzdar and N-55 Indus Highway at Ratodero.. This road links Gwadar to Quetta and Chamman through N-25-RCD Highway.

The Senate Committee was also given a presentation on development of Rs. 100 billion Gwadar-Quetta Rail-link project and the reasons why it was stalled. The Committee took a strong exception to the provincial Government’s violation of the ban on sale of state lands imposed by the federal Government in Balochistan.

The Government/Railway prized land was allegedly sold by the unscrupulous elements in the provincial administration to private housing societies / land developers at throw away prices.

The same societies, it was alleged, are now demanding millions of Rupees from the railways to provide land for construction of Container Yard.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Neo]

First ship arrives at Gwadar port​

LAHORE: A ship carrying 72,000 tonnes of wheat arrived at Gwadar Port on Monday – the first to come to Pakistan’s largest deep-water port since its inauguration last year. Dawn News television channel reported that a private company had chartered the ship, which came from Russia and arrived in the evening. Earlier, the Gwadar port administration had asked the Karachi Port Trust and the Ministry of Ports and Shipping for help in handling the ship.

According to the channel, the port authorities and the shipping company had not decided until Saturday on how to handle the cargo. The port administration had arranged three tugs instead of the usual two, the channel said. It said the port would initially be used as captive cargo for trans-shipment purposes only. daily times monitor

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Neo]

Experts concerned over safe docking: POS Glory arrives at Gwadar Port ​

KARACHI (March 11 2008): Amid a wave of apprehensions about safe berthing of a Panamax bulk carrier at Gwadar Port the Singaporean port operator would reduce draft of the 76,508dwt vessel, which has hit outer-anchorage of the newly constructed port on Monday.

M/v POS Glory carrying 72,700 metric tonnes (MT) of Russian wheat has finally arrived at territorial waters of Gwadar Port, sources in Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) told Business Recorder. "The ship has arrived Monday at 10:45 AM and is standing at the outer-anchorage," said an official in GPA.

He said to ensure safe berthing and handling of the Hong Kong's flag-carrier the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) would go for lighterage of the 225-meter long vessel by another ship from Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) at the outer-anchorage. "M/v Hyderabad of PNSC will reach Gwadar Port tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9:30 pm and through sucking machinery will take 18,000 MT bulk wheat from POS Glory," said the GPA official.

He said after lighterage POS Glory, which has a 14.038-meter summer draft, would be reduced to 12.5 meter from the present 13.9-meter. "Once it loses 18,000 tonnes of wheat the ship's draft will become 12.5 meter, which can easily be accommodated at port," he added.

When asked about destiny of the 18,000 MT discharged cargo, the GPA official said it was yet to be decided that whether M/v Hyderabad would unload the cargo at Karachi Port or at Port Qasim. "We have not finalised it but most probably it would be Port Qasim which deals with major bulk shipments of the country," he said.

On arrangements made by the PSA the official said the stevedoring company had arranged all necessary equipment including machinery etc to handle the ship which is owned by White Cherry Shipping S.A and operated by Cido Shipping, South Korea.

M/v POS Glory, which was readied for sailing on July 27, 2005, has an official speed of 15.6 knots and 10177 MT light-ship-weight with a 39,964 gross international tonnage and 26,025 net tonnage.

The ports and shipping experts have been in a persistent grip of apprehensions that due to shortage of the needed infrastructure the newly constructed Gwadar Port would not be able to berth the 225m-long vessel as soon as the government had declared Gwadar destination of over 72000 MT wheat. Experts have raised concerns about docking of the 225m-long vessel in view of the danger it may pose to the newly constructed berths. They say that the port has only two 30-tonne bollard-pull tugs, whereas the Panamax vessel needs at least two tugs of 60-tonnes BP to turn it in the port's 480m basin.

They fear that if the less powerful tugs are used for the huge vessel it may swing them and cause an accident. However, when asked if the PSA was facing any difficulty in berthing or handling of the vessel the GPA official replied in negative. "No, there will be no problem we will berth and handle the ship safely," he added.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]