Operational crisis at KICT: Collectorate makes dramatic reversal in its assessment

KARACHI: The Collectorate of Customs Appraisement West has made a dramatic reversal in its assessment of the operational crisis at Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT), claiming a significant reduction in container backlog just days after highlighting severe inefficiencies at Pakistan’s crucial trade gateway.

In a statement issued on February 11, 2026, the Collectorate claimed that the backlog at KICT has been reduced to only 198 containers, down from over 1,000 containers in the first week of January 2026. The announcement comes less than two weeks after the department painted a drastically different picture of operations at the terminal.

According to the latest statement, the department has made “all out” efforts to liquidate backlog of the containers at KICT and pledged to continue working in close coordination with the terminal operator and trade stakeholders to maintain minimal backlog levels.

READ MORE: KICT faces crisis as 38,000 containers remain undelivered

However, this upbeat assessment stands in stark contrast to the Collectorate’s earlier letter dated January 31, 2026 sent to the CEO KICT, which painted a grim picture of KICT operations, highlighting severe operational issues including over 38,000 containers remaining undelivered, inadequate infrastructure, and operational inefficiencies.

The January letter noted that more than 10,000 containers had piled up in January 2026 alone, terming it an “alarming scale of the crisis” affecting Pakistan’s main trade gateway. The earlier assessment had also criticized KICT for failing to proportionately upgrade its space, trained human resources, and cargo handling equipment. “Despite repeated interventions, the issues were said to continue prevailing, adversely affecting customs examination, clearance time, trade facilitation, and overall port efficiency, the earlier letter said.

According to the January 31 letter, the operational challenges had stretched containers’ grounding period to 8-10 days for examination. The Collectorate had specifically highlighted workforce shortages, noting that “only 90 labourers work the day shift and a mere 15 during night shifts, with occasional ad-hoc hiring failing to bridge the gap.” The letter further stated that since cargo arrangement for examination was done manually, this workforce shortage led to improper container arrangement and examination delays.

The dramatic shift in the Collectorate’s assessment within a span of less than two weeks has raised questions about the actual state of operations at KICT and the credibility of the earlier crisis warning by the Collectorate.

It remains unclear what specific measures were implemented to achieve such a significant reduction in backlog in such a short timeframe, particularly given the infrastructure and workforce challenges detailed in the earlier official communication.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026