Infrastructure and Transport News

[Neo]

Hub-Karachi railway track under study

KARACHI (January 18 2007): The Lasbela Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) will provide necessary commercial and industrial data to Railway for their assessment in developing the feasibility report of linking Hub industrial area with Karachi through railway track.

Considering the importance of Lasbela district being the gateway to Gawader port, the chamber proposed to the Ministry of Railway for laying a railway track from Karachi to Hub. The chamber also proposed that a passenger and goods trains be run to facilitate industrialists to reduce the cost of transportation of their workers and goods, thus reducing their cost of production.

After receiving the proposal Railway authorities have advised the chamber to contact the railway approved consultants to prepare a feasibility report of the project.

The chamber contacted as many as eight railway-approved consultants and ultimately M/s Pakistan Railways Advisory and Consultancy Services (Pvt) Limited Islamabad sent their proposal for preparing the feasibility report. Pursuing the same, a meeting was held between Pakistan Railway, Lida and the Lasbela Chamber to consider the ways and means to proceed further.

An interdepartmental body comprising representatives of Pakistan Railway, LCCI and Lasbela Industrial Development Authority (Lida) has been formed to study the technical and commercial aspect of the proposed linkage of Hub, Gawadar and Karachi through a railway track.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=518296&currPageNo=3&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

January 18, 2007

Infrastructure cess rate revised upward

KARACHI, Jan 17: The Sindh government has revised upward rate of infrastructure cess, adding a slab of weight and distance covered by an import consignment to reach its destination in the province. The consignees will now have to pay one paisa per km for the distance to their destination.

According to the new schedule of tax announced through an ordinance issued by the governor of Sindh for consignments up to 1,250 kg, infrastructure cess will be 0.5 per cent of C&F value, plus one paisa per km.

The rates of a consignment of 2,030 kg and above will be 0.505 per cent plus one paisa per km; for 4,060 kg and above the rate will be 0.510 per cent plus one paisa per km; for 8,120 kg and above 0.515 per cent; for 16,000 kg 0.520 per cent and for consignments exceeding 16,000 kg the rate will be 0.525 per cent plus one paisa per km.

Earlier, the infrastructure cess was charged at a flat rate of 0.5 per cent of the C&F value of a consignment. However, a number of importers challenged the rate in the Sindh High Court arguing that some importers were using less amount of infrastructure than others hence the tax should not be charged at a flat rate. The case is pending in the SHC for the last one-and-a-half years.

To satisfy the complainants, the Sindh governor issued the Sindh Finance (Amendment) Ordinance, 2006, which has come into effect with immediate effect.The ordinance said in the Sindh Finance Act, 1994, hereinafter referred as the said Act, in section 9, for sub-section (1), the following shall be substituted:-“(1) There shall be levied and collected a cess for maintenance and development of infrastructure on goods at the rate determined on the basis of their value, net weight, and distance in accordance with the schedule appended to this Act, for carriage by road and smooth and safer movement in the province upon entering or before leaving the province from or for outside the province or country, through air or sea.

The infrastructure cess is a major revenue earner for the Sindh government, which collected Rs4,602.761 million during 2005-06. The six months (July-Dec 07) collections from the cess is Rs2275.987 million.

Secretary Excise and Taxation Iqbal Ahmed Bablani told Dawn on Wednesday that the step taken by the Sindh government would end long litigation between the government and the importers and it would lead to increase in revenue. The concerned parties were hitherto depositing cess in the court.

He said that the cess rates had been rationalised to give benefit to the importers using fewer infrastructure compared to those importing huge consignments and carrying them to a long distance.

Chairman, KCCI sub-committee on Taxation, was unable to give his comment on the development, saying that he needs some time to give his reaction.

He, however, said that levy of one paisa per km on the distance covered by an import consignment will increase the cost of imports, which would be definitely passed onto consumers.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/01/18/ebr5.htm

 

[Neo]

President to inaugurate SIA on February 15

SAMBRIAL (January 20 2007): President General Pervez Musharraf will formally inaugurate the newly constructed Sialkot International Airport (SIA) on February 15, 2007 and on this day first cargo flight carrying export goods would depart from this airport.

Sialkot International Airport's Director & Convenor Media Committee, M Zafar Malik disclosed this while talking to journalists here on Friday. He said President General Musharraf had been sent invitation in this regard. He said more than Rs 2 billion had been incurred on the construction of this airport on which modern system had been installed for guidance of the aircraft to land and take off on it even in thickly fog.

M Zafar Malik said such a sophisticated system was not installed at any airport of the country, adding that the runway of this airport was 3.5 kilometer long and during any emergency the F-16 could also land and take off on it. It was a second project after Sambrial Dry Port, which had been completed in private sector helping to overcome unemployment in the region, he added.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=519410&currPageNo=3&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

Pakistan to sell land for 5-star hotels in Dubai

22 January 2007

ABU DHABI — Pakistan Railways will hold roadshows for selling its eight plots of land located in prime commercial areas across the country for establishing five star hotels. The government is also looking for joint venture partners for launching a chain of 55 budget hotels, said Shaikh Rashid Ahmed, Pakistan's minister for railways.

"We are finalising our programme, to make our presentation in Dubai to offer our prime land for setting five star hotels, budget hotels and electric power stations to lure Gulf investors", said Shaikh Rashid in an interview with Khaleej Times, yesterday.

He said that of these eight plots for five star hotels, three are located in the prime commercial localities of Karachi, and one each in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Sukkur.

Last year, he said, one plot in the heart of Karachi was sold out to a Sharjah-based group for constructing $200 million complex. He said there is tremendous need for budget hotels. Pakistan Railways has planned to launch 55 budget hotels on joint venture basis, in all the major metropolitan cities and towns in the country. The Pakistan Railways has invited Expressions of Interest (EoIs), which will be expired this week, for the establishment of the project. The EoIs will be extended to attract gulf investors.

Giving details of the project, Shaikh Rashid said Pakistan Railway, as joint venture partner would invest its "Land as Equity", while the lead partner will plan, design, finance, develop, operate and market the project, ensuring regular revenue streams to Pakistan Railways during the agreement period.

The partners would be responsible for obtaining any approvals, sanctions and certification from local or relevant agencies for setting up the project. "These hotels are aimed at providing better accommodation to the people at comparatively affordable rates. The locations where these hotels would be established include Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta, Chaman, Sibbi, Taxila Cantt, Rawalpindi, Jehlum, Sargodha, Golra Sharif, Peshawar, Attock, Kohat, Hassanabdal, Mardan, Charsadda ,Nowshera. Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot and other cities.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Display...business_January525.xml&section=business&col=

 

[Neo]

Government may declare transport an industry

ISLAMABAD (January 25 2007): The government may declare transport as an industry enabling the transport operators to get financing from the banks. This was a unanimous demand by the transport operators' representatives to the Minister for Industries and Production, Jehangir Khan Tareen on Wednesday.

The minister, presiding over two separate meetings with truck body-makers and large fleet operators said the government will take up the issue with the banks and some solution could be found. If declaring it, as an industry is the only solution to promote transport sector then the government will go for it, he assured.

He assured all the stakeholders of the transport sector that the government would solve all their problems to modernise it. A series of meetings have been planned to understand the situation so that a holistic approach could be adopted to improve the services, he added.

The minister said a workshop has been arranged on February 13 in which all the stakeholders are invited to take their comments. The truck fleet modernisation was part of the National Trade Corridor Improvement Programme initiated by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, he added.

Tareen directed the Engineering Development Board (EDB) for conducting a survey of truck body makers. The government will look into the possibilities of establishing an industrial estate of 25 acres around Rawalpindi in order to solve the problem of land for the truck body builders, he added. A training institute for drivers of heavy vehicles will also be established to meet the demand of skilled manpower of the sector, he added.

The meetings were informed that National Highway Authority is planning to establish 104 weigh-bridges at different highways to control overloading, which is damaging roads.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=521327&currPageNo=2&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

‘Country needs Rs2.9 trillion to upgrade infrastructure’

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has estimated that countryís financing needs to upgrade present infrastructures will be Rs2.9 trillion.

Muhammad Arif, Joint Director, Financial Markets Strategy and Conduct Department of the Central Bank, while presenting his paper on Sukuk, at a 2-days international conference at a local hotel on Wednesday detailed following break up.

Ports: Rs104 billion; Aviation: Rs133.9 billion; Energy: Rs1102 billion for private sector and federal government; Karachi Electric Supply Corporation: Rs58 billion; water resources: Rs219 billion.

In fuel sector the public sector will need Rs219 billion and private sector financing needs will be Rs174 billion.

He said the issuance of Sukuks is the best financing option.

He suggested five-point way forward for achieving the financing targets:

Creation of primary sovereign Sukuk Market.

Creation of critical mass in sovereign market to the level of Rs30 billion. This would enable Islamic banks to meet their reserve requirements leaving some mass to secondary market trading.

Creation of Repo market by innovating some model in accordance with Shariah requirements and devising documentation and drafting of master Repo agreement.

Making Islamic financing activities part of Monetary Policy Operations. This can be done through introduction of short-term Islamic Money Market instrument mimicking features of Treasury Bills.

Price dissemination mechanism be installed.

He disclosed that SBP is coordinating with international financial institutions in developing Islamic Money Market and Sukuk Market.

SBP has also formed a task force to develop Islamic Money Market and to suggest Government of Pakistan regarding structuring and issuance of Sovereign Domestic Sukuk.

SBP is also coordinating with SECP to develop corporate bond market by making them cost effective and by providing requisite market infrastructure.

According to him this would facilitate corporate Sukuk Issuance as well.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=40228

 

[Neo]

Modernisation of trucking discussed

KARACHI: Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives, Jahangir Khan Tareen has assured all stakeholders of transport sector that the federal government will solve their problems for modernisation.

He was presiding over two separate meetings with truck body-makers and large fleet operators in Islamabad on Wednesday.

He added that a series of meetings have been planned to understand the situation so that holistic approach could be taken to improve the services and efficiencies.

A workshop on February 13 would be held in Islamabad where all stakeholders would be able to present their views.

The minister said that truck fleet modernisation was part of the National Trade Corridor Improvement Programme.

Tareen instructed the Engineering Development Board to make a comprehensive survey of truck body builders to formalize the industry. He promised that the government would look into the possibilities of establishing an industrial estate of 25 acres around Rawalpindi in order to solve the problem of land for the truck body builders.

A training institute for drivers of heavy vehicles will also be established to meet the demand for skilled manpower by the sector, he added.

Participants of the meetings were informed that National Highway Authority is planning to establish 104 weigh bridges at different highways in order to control the problem of overloading, which is damaging the roads. Tareen said that a plan would be circulated to the fleet operators in order to get inputs from them.

The representatives of transporters unanimously demanded that transport should be declared an industry so that they could get financing from the commercial banks.

Tareen said that the government would take the issue of financing with banks and some solution could be found in this regard. If declaring industry is the only solution for them, then the government will go for it, he added.

The transporters also demanded that truck stands should be shifted outside the cities, near highways in order to solve their parking and extra costing issues.

Secretary Industries, Production and Special Initiatives Shahab Khawaja, senior officials of National Transport Research Centre, National Highway Authority, NLC and office bearers of various associations of transporters and truck manufacturers, attended the meetings. Imtiaz Rastgar, Chief Executive Officer, Engineering Development Board gave a presentation on various issues of the sector.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=40238

 

[Neo]

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Work on Indus Highway Phase III to start soon

ISLAMABAD: The National Highway Authority (NHA) plans to start work on Phase-III of the Indus Highway (N-55), comprising a two-lane carriageway between Sehwan and Ratodero, with a $ 174 million Japanese soft loan.

“Tenders have been issued in this regard, and construction work on the project will start soon,” sources in the NHA told APP on Wednesday. Indus Highway or N-55 has a total length of 1,264 kilometres out of which 757 kilometres have been completed in Phase-I & II, while the remaining 465 kilometer section will be completed in Phase-III, said the sources.

Indus Highway provides a 500 kilometre shorter Peshawar-to-Karachi route than the National Highway (N-5). The completion of Phase III of the Indus Highway will pave the way for swift transportation of goods to and from Karachi. It will also be instrumental in bringing socio-economic progress to the less developed areas on the west bank of the River Indus. Moreover, the completion of this project will strengthen the capacity of the Indus Highway as an integral part of the national trade corridor.

The first two phases of the Indus Highway were also co-financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the governments of Pakistan and Japan.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\01\25\story_25-1-2007_pg11_10

 

[Neo]

PIA chief sees turnaround in 2007

KARACHI: Chairman Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Tariq Kirmani hopes that 2007 could be a turnaround year for the national flag carrier but says to achieve this changes have to be made in every area and money will need to be spent.

He told this to members of cabin crew of PIA in a interaction, which is part of a series of periodical communication meetings with the employees of different departments of the corporation, said a handout issued here on Thursday.

Kirmani talked to them about high fuel prices and how it had affected the economics of the airline in the last two years. Fuel costs in the last two years had increased by 100 per cent from Rs18 billion in 2004 to Rs36 billion in 2006 or from 31 per cent of total revenues in 2004 to 48 per cent in 2006. The airline industry average of the cost of fuel as a percentage of revenues was merely 27 per cent, he said.

“We have to change the people’s perception about the organisation. Criticism for the sake of criticism was no good and served no ones purpose. We require new blood to run this organisation and for this the first preference is from within the organisation and then from outside,” the handout quoted him as saying.

He said there are some tough decisions to be made but one thing is for sure that even if PIA is a public sector organisation it will not function as such.

He agreed with a suggestion that fortnightly meetings among members of the operational departments should be arranged and held regularly so that the problems and issues are better understood at the operational level and are resolved for the benefit of all.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=40384

 

[Neo]

Airblue plans Islamabad-UK operation

KARACHI: Pakistan's one of private sector airlines, Airblue, on Friday announced plans to launch its first long-haul international operation between Islamabad and Manchester, United Kingdom, from the middle of May, 2007.

According to a press release issued here, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Air Blue, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the airline had been evaluating proposal to operate to UK for over a year and completed all necessary official requirements to launch the flights.

He said the airline first obtained official permission from government for operations and formal permission was obtained from the UK Department of Transportation.

The decision to start operation to Manchester was taken in the wake of large strength of Pakistani community in the region, Abbasi said.

Negotiations are in process with Manchester Airport Group on details of flight operation, which include slot timing, handling, engineering, catering and other allied support functions, the press release added.

With a fleet of six Airbus aircraft, Airblue operates more than 30 flights a day to seven domestic destinations and three daily flights to Dubai.

It has operated more than 10,000 flights in the last 30 months carrying over 2 million passengers on its network with revenues in excess of Rs12 billion.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=40528

 

[Neo]

CDGK plans to construct, improve eight more roads

KARACHI (January 28 2007): City District Government Karachi (CDGK) plans to construct and improve eight new roads in the metropolis at the cost of Rs 143.8 million with a view to resolve increasing traffic problems.

In this regard, Works and Services Department of the CDGK has invited tenders from the A-class pre-qualified contractors for the construction of roads. In line with proposed plan, construction of Azeempura Road, Shah Faisal Colony, Jamot Wali Muhammad Road from PAF Base Korangi to Ali Akbar Shah Goth Bin Qasim Town will be done at the estimated cost of Rs 20 million.

Similarly, Cattle Colony to Coastal Area, Bin Qasim Town will be completed at the estimated cost of Rs 18 million; Rodalt Basti to Rehri, Bin Qasim Town at the cost of Rs 19 million; Road 363 from Road 362 to Road 10,000 Landhi Town with the estimated cost of Rs 10.7 million, Road 12000 to Road 8000 along Ismail Goth Landhi Town at the cost of Rs 13.2 million; Navi Road from Road 16000 to I&T Exchange Korangi II, Landhi Town by Rs 43.7 million, construction of footpath along with Mewashah Graveyard Site Town at the cost of Rs 6.7 million, and 11-A to 11-B New Karachi Road at the cost of Rs 6.7 million.

Moreover, the CDGK has also invited tenders for the construction of storm water drains including Soldier Bazaar from Gurumandir to Sultanabad (main drain), Soldier Bazaar drain from Gurumandir to Sultanabad Segment I (Dhobi Gat and Empress Market branch) and Segment II (Lucky Star Branch and Commissioner Office Branch).

A 15-member group of students from Kennedy Schools of Government, Harvard University, United States of America has visited Jehangir Kothari Parade, Bagh-e-Ibn-e-Qasim Clifton. The city government officials briefed them about the Clifton Beach Development plan and other uplift projects being undertaken in the area. The students were informed of the restoration and renovation of old Jehangir Kothari Parade, Development of Clifton Beach Park and Bagh-e-Ibn-e-Qasim spread on an area of 130-acre of land.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=522678&currPageNo=3&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

Over Rs 71 million for roads construction

PESHAWAR (January 28 2007): North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has approved Rs 71.155 million for the construction of 10 km roads and a suspension bridge in Vally Konish of district Mansehra.

The roads included Chiprha Payan to Chiprha Bala (3 km road), Shahrah-e-Raisham to Ahle Aur Bajna village (1.175 km road), Shahrah-e-Raisham to Dhna Chinar Kot (1 km road), Shahrah-e-Raisham to Korey Achrhian (1.1 km road), Shahrah-e-Raisham to Soyan Nakholi (1.5 km road), Shahrah-e-Raisham to Zubair Shaheed Bhai Bala (1.225 km road) and Qiyyam Galli to Lam village (1 km road).

The scheme has been approved as non-ADP and the chief minister directed the finance department to immediately release fund for the construction and rehabilitation of roads in Vally Konish to facilitate the people and would make easier the road communication network in the area.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=522707&currPageNo=3&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

PNSC set to buy 2 oil tankers, 1 bulk carrier worth $150m

By Sajid Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) is all set to acquire two Aframax Oil Tankers and one Panamax Bulk Carrier worth $150 million to enhance country’s capacity to transport crude oil and raw materials, a government official told Daily Times on Monday.

The purchase of oil tankers and bulk carrier would also necessitate in view of the fact that by the calendar year 2010, all single hull oil tankers will need to be phased out of operations and replaced by double hull oil tankers under the International Maritime Organisation Regulations.

The acquisition of the oil tankers and bulk carrier by the companies would go a long way in the economic development of the country by providing state of the art tankers bulk carrier for the PNSC subsidiaries.

Three of the PNSC’s subsidiary companies, namely, Karachi Shipping (Private) Limited, Quetta Shipping (Private) Limited and Lahore Shipping (Private) Limited are acquiring state of the art two Aframax Oil Tankers and one Panamax Bulk Carrier at a cost of approximately $150 million. This acquisition is being financed through foreign currency funding arrangement from ABN AMRO Bank NV, the Netherlands (ABN) to the extent of 90% of the total cost of the above acquisition, the official added.

The said loan between ABN AMRO Bank and the Karachi Shipping (Private) Limited, Quetta Shipping (Private) Limited and Lahore Shipping (Private) Limited has been arranged without any government guarantee.

The PNSC being public sector enterprise having 89.13% shareholding of the government of Pakistan and its 16 subsidiaries including the three referred have experienced tremendous growth in operations since last five years. To meet this and future growth, fleet expansion and replacement plan is necessary. The purchase of oil tankers of necessitated in view of the fact that by the calendar year 2010, all single hull oil tankers will need to be phased out of operations and replaced by double hull oil tankers.

The PNSC on behalf of its subsidiaries is a major transporter of crude oil for the country’s needs, and is required to abide by the International Maritime Organization Regulations. Further, to meet the country’s bulk imports of raw materials such as coal coke, iron ore and grains, the PNSC requires adding more bulk carriers in its fleet. At present, the PNSC managed company has only one bulk carrier, which is insufficient to meet country’s increasing demand. The same is being managed through foreign flagged vessels, which is resulting in out flows of the country’s precious foreign exchange reserves. The acquisition of state of the art two Aframax Oil Tankers and one Panamax Bulk Carrier will therefore, assist in the economic development of the country.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\01\30\story_30-1-2007_pg5_1

 

[Neo]

Japan to assist in transport sector

ISLAMABAD - Japan has shown willingness to provide financial and technical assistance to Pakistan for the launching of mega projects of intra-metropolitans and long distance inter-cities tunnel train services to reduce burden on the transport sector, a government official told TheNation.

The private sector companies from Japan, having expertise in tunnel train services, are taking interest in investing in the railway sector, especially of jointly initiating the ventures of intra-cities tunnel train service. They have also indicated to invest in the long-distance tunnel train service among the various major cities.

The official said the Japanese investors have communicated to government of Pakistan about their interests in the said areas to help both financially and technically in setting up such train services. The proposal in this respect has been under review in the Ministry of Railways and the experts are looking its feasibility and also viability. The decision will be taken shortly after discussing every aspect of these projects.

He maintained the investors’ interest in these railways projects reflects the stability in the construction sector as such projects are directly linked with the availability of construction materials like cement. The huge construction projects of building tunnels required larger stocks of cement and the government is confident to fulfill the needs of the investors. “If the production of cement, the main component in construction, continued at this level then there would more investors to come in Pakistan,” the official hoped.

Train service in Pakistan is totally under state control due to its strategic importance and the government has not yet put Pakistan Railways on the privatisation list and no sign in the near future. Pakistan Railways still maintains its significance of larger network and accessibility to various small towns and villages across the country, especially in Sindh and Punjab.

Carrying goods from various major important trade centres like Karachi and Lahore etc to other parts of the country presently uses railways service. Pakistan Army is also using train service for mobilization and supplying of goods from one place to other.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/jan-2007/30/bnews1.php

 

[Neo]

January 30, 2007
Regional trade role suggested for KPT

By Shamim-ur-Rahman

KARACHI, Jan 29: International experts maintain that Karachi harbour cannot handle mother ships, therefore, the focus should be on exploiting Karachi’s role as the hub of a regional trans-shipment trade. They are also sceptical about the environmental impact of the proposed deep-draught container handling berths at Keamari Groyne.

These conclusions were drawn in the final report on the feasibility of the project by the Techno-Consult International in association with Posford Haskoning Ltd. and HR Wallingford prepared for the Karachi Port Trust.

The KPT is keen to expand its services for a wider global market and has developed a comprehensive plan for the development of infrastructure and other incentives to attract transhipment trade to the port. A part of this plan is construction of deep draught container handling berths at Keamari Groyne.

The environmental assessment made by these experts showed that “the project would not directly harm the environment after completion.” It was recommended to dredge outside the migration and nesting season of the protected Green Turtle. The dredging is, however, not possible during the monsoon season.

The environmentalists, however, do not agree with the consultants’ observation and maintain that it would further pollute the harbour area and, therefore, endanger marine life and those living along the coast.

They suggested monitoring the impacts of the dredging and the changes in the current profile in the area in order to be able to take mitigation measures whenever required after completion of the project.

A trade forecast model was developed to determine the expected future container trade for the new terminal. It concluded the potential trade volume for the Central Asian States was meagre compared to Pakistan’s domestic trade. This is because Pakistan has a much larger economy than the CAS together.

For a larger share of this small market, the federal government should make major investments in hinterland connections from the port, the experts proposed.

In Pakistan the containerisation process is still ongoing. Every year more general cargo is transported in containers. The growth of container trade showed it was in line with expectations. Based on the World Bank’s GDP forecast and the historic average of the GDP as development scenarios, a forecast of the container throughput on national level were developed.

The preconditions to transhipment trade were identified, which included unrestricted access to the port; fast cargo documentation and customs procedures supported by EDI, allowing start of discharge within one hour of berthing and allowing sailing within one hour of completion of loading operations; and available space to increase capacity.

According to a regional market analysis it would be very difficult for Karachi to attract mother ships from the eastmain trading route. The port should rather focus on the attraction of transhipment trade from the dedicated Middle East routes, the experts suggested in their report. Ships on these routes often bring a lot of cargo that is destined for Pakistan and India.

Analysis of the present container handling capacity in Karachi and the traffic forecast results showed that there was a need to develop a new container terminal in Karachi between 2008 and 2010, depending on the high or the low traffic forecast scenario.

They have recommended that a Simulation Navigational Study be carried out by the KPT under the next stage of detailed Quay wall and marine design works. This study is required by the operations division of KPT.To connect the terminal to the existing road infrastructure, three alternative road connections were designed. The preferred alternative follows largely the existing infrastructure, but has a fly over to pass the most congested parts in the Port access roads.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/01/30/ebr1.htm