Saba Javed

With the recent surge in port traffic, Pakistan is in dire need to strengthen its road infrastructure for direct connectivity to the ports, reports WealthPK. Pakistan has three major ports, of which Karachi Port Trust (KPT) is the biggest, which handles cargo of 50 to 60 million tons annually. Port Qasim Authority (PQA) is the second major port which handles cargo of 40 to 50 million tons annually.

Currently, the port is connected with Mai Kolachi Bypass and Sunset Boulevard roads, which remain clogged with traffic causing long delays in cargo transportation. Gwadar Port Authority is the third operational port that has been developed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Gwadar Port, which is still in the development phase, currently handles cargos of 50 to 60 thousand tons annually, although the traffic is expected to increase significantly in the years ahead. The majority of taxes that the federal government collects come from international trade. According to estimates, nearly half of the revenue collected by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) comes from ports, which is estimated at around $235 million (0.08% of GDP).

Talking to WealthPK, Shariq Amin Farooqui, Manager Public Relations at the Karachi Port Trust, said, “Ports play a significant role in the economic development and prosperity of a country. Unfortunately, the existing network of motorways and national highways is not connected with the KPT 24/7. The port traffic faces curfew hours. The port has increased its capacity, but the profitability remains stagnant due to the transportation hurdles within Karachi.”

Farooqui said the KPT had been striving for more than 20 years to acquire direct access to the motorways for the transportation of freight, but the plans drew a blank due to the lack of collaboration among the local, provincial, and federal organizations. To resolve this issue in Karachi, the KPT developed two circular roads on its own – one over the Jinnah Bridge and the other over the Korangi Road.

Farooqui said the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and KPT senior management held a meeting in July last year with the chairman Public Private Partnership Unit, Government of Sindh, deputy secretary (EC-II) Economic Affairs Division and a representative of the Embassy of Korea on the proposed Lyari Elevated Freight Corridor Project for inclusion in the list of Candidate Projects for EDCF Soft Loan of the Republic of Korea.

In early January 2023, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, through the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, informed the KPT authorities that the project proposal had been shared with the Exim Bank, Korea by the Economic Affairs Division and that the bank had approved the project as a firm project. The KPT now awaits the requirements from the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) to avail itself of the loan facility. The EAD officials have communicated to the KPT that the requirements will be shared with them through the Ministry of Maritimes Affairs shortly.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk