Govt unveils unified transshipment incentives for KPT, Port Qasim

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry announced on Wednesday a unified transhipment incentive package offering major concessions at Karachi Port and Port Qasim to cut cargo handling costs and attract regional shipping traffic.

The package, jointly introduced by the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Port Qasim Authority (PQA) and their container terminal operators, includes reductions in wet charges, wharfage, storage fees and terminal handling charges for containerised, bulk and break-bulk transhipment cargo, as per a statement.

“The incentive framework introduces a slab-based concession on Port Wet Charges for vessels carrying transhipment cargo (Containerised & bulk/break bulk cargo).

Vessels with 5–10% transshipment cargo will receive a 20% concession, increasing to 30% for 11–25%, 50% for 26–50%, 70% for vessels carrying 50–90% transshipment cargo (minimum 2,000 TEUs for container vessels) and 80% for vessels carrying 90–100% transshipment cargo (minimum 3,500 TEUs for container vessels),” the minister shared.

He further said that KPT will provide wharfage concessions ranging from 20% to 80% (For 70%, minimum 2,000 TEUs for container vessels, whilst for 80%, minimum 3,500 TEUs for container vessels),14 days of free storage at terminals and 30 days of free storage at the TPX cargo area of KPT under agent responsibility.

PQA will grant 100% Wharfage concession together with 7 days of free storage at terminals, extendable to 21 days at PQA for cargo movement under agent responsibility, he said.

READ MORE: Activities of Karachi Port Trust, Port Qasim

“To complement the port incentives, Pakistan’s four major container terminals have also announced substantial reductions in Terminal Handling Charges (THC) for transhipment containers,” the statement said.

Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT), South Asia Pakistan Terminals (SAPTL), Karachi Gateway Terminal Limited (KGTL) of Karachi Port Trust whilst Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT) of Port Qasim Authority will offer Terminal Handling Charges (THC) concessions of 10% on 5-10% of Transshipment Cargo manifest, 20% on 11-25 precent of Transshipment Cargo manifest and up to 25% for more than 25 percent of Transshipment Cargo manifest.

The incentives apply to both 20-foot and 40-foot containers and significantly reduce the overall handling cost for shipping lines.

“The new framework replaces all previous transhipment concession notifications and SROs with a single, transparent and performance-based regime applicable at both Karachi Port and Port Qasim,” the maritime minister said.