PQA compelling importers to unload shipments at FWQ LCT jetty: MWI jetty for unloading edible oils disallowed

The Port Qasim Authority (PQA) has made the importers hostage to a FWQ LCT jetty by disallowing unloading of their ships carrying thousands of tons of edible oil coming into Pakistan every month at MWI jetty. The authority has abandoned MWI jetty for berthing of vessels carrying edible oil from different destinations to Karachi without citing any solid reason.
Sources said PQA has made only FWQ LCT jetty available to the importers of edible oil and by virtue of it forced them to pay more for unloading of shipments there. FWQ LCT jetty is owned and run by a private firm and PQA's diversion of vessels carrying edible oil tantamount to grant it undue favour when another option of MWI jetty for unloading of edible oil shipment is available.
Importers term PQA act of limiting unloading of edible oil ships at FWQ LCT as the worst example of favouritism and providing a legal cover to let a private firm charge $1.50 per ton as special charge in addition to other charges. The forced diversion of vessels bringing edible oil to Pakistan and their unloading at FWQ LCT jetty is usually delaying unloading of shipments resulting in heavy demurrage to the importers and causing congestion at the port.
Unloading of shipments at FWQ LCT jetty is seen problematic by importers as it costs them extra as transportation charges since pipelines to pipe imported edible oil to the refining units are close to MWI jetty. Now due to forced diversion to FWQ LCT jetty they have to transport consignments from the jetty to their refining units. By virtue of businessmen attitude importers pass on these extra charges on the end consumers-public making their cooking and edible oil products costlier.
Importers have held a number of meetings with PQA and the Ministry of Port and Shipping officials in the recent past to make them feel that abandoning of MWI jetty and forcing them to use FWQ LCT jetty is hitting them hard, besides making cooking oil and ghee costlier for the consumers and this policy needs to be reviewed but it is hardly working. So much so that Federal Minister for Port and Shipping Babar Ghuari's intervention is not bringing any good to the importers. On his direction, Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) delegation headed by chairman Shaikh Ikram met PQA chairman but this meeting is yet to yield positive results for the industrialists.