Significant investment coming into port, shipping sector: minister

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh on Saturday said that significant foreign investment is coming into Pakistan’s ports and shipping sector, establishing the country as a key gateway for regional trade.

Speaking to media at Karachi Press Club (KPC) here he said that Maersk Line, Dubai Port and Abu Dhabi ports and have shown interest to invest in the ports and shipping sector of the country, besides Hutchison Ports has been planning to further investment in South Asia Ports Terminal.

He said that Maersk Line has also offered to uplift the infrastructure in the areas surrounding the ports in Karachi, whereas green technology would be employed in ship-breaking industry with the assistance of Denmark.

About the Gwadar port, the minister said that 90 percent of the investment and management of the ports lie with China and government has decided to route sixty percent of the public sector foreign trade through this port. He said that improvement in the law & order situation would attract the shipping companies of the private sector towards this port, which is the strategic port of the country.

Sheikh said that Pakistan is ideally located with its ports being the best available option for landlocked Central Asian states, which consider Pakistan ports being competitive because of being the deep sea ports.

Maritime minister said that Russia and Malaysia have also showed the interest to use Pakistan ports as transshipment ports because of their strategic location.

He sounded optimistic that country would grab the opportunity, which is available in the maritime sector as it has very low share in GDP compared to average share of maritime sector in the global GDP.

He pointed out that country’s maritime sector contributes one percent in the national GDP whereas it is average seven percent in the world.

Sheikh said that performance of public sector entities in maritime sector is contrary to the poor health of state-owned enterprises, which have eaten up Rs.6000 billion in the last ten years. “The public sector entities like Karachi Port Trust, Port Qasim, Pakistan National Corporation (PNSC) have recorded Rs.90 billion profit in the last fiscal,” he revealed.

Sheikh attributed the internal disputes for blocking the development of the country in the last three decades whereas India moved forward remarkably during this period.

Sultan Chawla, Chairman PNSC told the media that the PNSC has only twelve vessels, which are being increased. “We have given order to Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works for building a container vessel with capacity of 1100 containers,” he said and hoped that it would be delivered in two years. He said that efforts are also under way to divert the foreign trade of public sector entities to the PNSC to save the precious foreign exchange.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025