Container handling has revolutionised the cargo handling facility of the maritime sector across the world. Looking at the opportunity it has provided to world maritime trade, the shipping sector has modified them to adopt the change through inclusion of container vessels. Since then, the container freight has multiplied manifolds. The global throughput has immensely increased and so has the ports world over have benefited from it. Pakistan too has benefited from it and dedicated berths at its ports exclusively for handling container freight.
In pursuance to landlord strategy adopted by ports across the globe, Pakistan has also adopted the same, and opened doors to private sector to join hands with government to facilitate the handling of container freight from both the Karachi Port as well as Port Muhammad bin Qasim. This led to establishment of dedicated Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT) at West Wharf and Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT) at East Wharf of the Karachi Port by Karachi Port Trust (KPT). Similarly, it also led to the establishment of Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT) at Port Muhammad bin Qasim by Port Qasim Authority (PQA).
This has paved way for competition amongst the port terminals to attract and to increase the container freight handling of Pakistan. KICT being the first container terminal to establish at Karachi Port has achieved many milestones since its inception and so havePICT through acquisition of super infrastructure like single and twin lift gantry cranes, stacking and mobile cranes to facilitate the trade community who now look more towards containers for their shipments. Soon, next year, a third one, South Asia Pakistan Terminals (SAPT), will start operations at Karachi Port at its newly established facility of Deep Water Container Port, which will further intensify the competition amongst the private sector for attracting and handling more container freight cargo at Karachi Port including its extension, the Deep Water Container Port.
The existing two private sector terminals in operation at Karachi Port are already geared for holding their share of market as well as to take their share out from market extension. KICT has achieved a milestone of "10 Million TEUs", in an overall period of 17 years, this year in November 2015.
Eyes are well set of the private sector operating at Karachi Port towards the start of operations at SAPT which surely will open new avenues through market extension. KPT is waiting for that grand finale occasion as it will bring Karachi Port on map of transhipment hub ports of the world. As the berths are attaining completion they are being handed over to KPT. These four berths will be handed over to the SAPT for commencing operations at Deep Water Container Port between Keamari Groyne and Clifton area. Most of the quay wall construction works have attained completion and the rest is expected to attain by the end of this year.Dredging and marine protection works are already completed by the contractors - China Harbour Engineering Company and China Water and Electric Company - hired by KPT.The Deep Water Container Port has been dredged to 16 metres depth. Initially, four berths with 1500 metres quay wall will become operational in the first phase. The new generation ships, categorised as E-Class Vessels, such as Emma Maersk, will call on these new deep water berths and enable these to handle transhipment container cargo of many landlocked countries located near it.
Besides this, the performance of Karachi Port Trust, under the present government and under the Minister for Ports and Shipping Senator Kamran Michael, especially during the tenure of Chairman KPT Vice Admiral (R) Shafqat Jawed HI (M), has remained phenomenal. The recent milestone achievement will add new feathers to the crown of his versatile leadership which paved way for initiating massive development works at Karachi Port. Various projects have been conceived and plans are outlaid to improve the overall infrastructure of the port while making the cargo handling capacity more efficient and speedy.
The availability of backup area has equal importance as is the facility inside the port. It is in this regard that KPT has set its focus to establish a central intermodal yard for all port traffic at its Thole Produce Yard(TPX Yard). It will provide an off-dock storage facility at first to containers and would take up storage pressure exiting within the port as an extension. The TPX gives an opportunity to defuse the road traffic intensity to and from the port. The proposed scheme under consideration is to run shuttle trains between TPX and east and west wharves which will substantially shift the road traffic from port gates to shuttle container trains. Developing TPX as a specialised centre for container handling, as a unit integrated with the port, to assist in future to achieve higher throughputs and greater share of the national trade that would take place from the port.
The Karachi Port Trust foresees a vibrant future and massive expansion in global container throughput. The pressure this time is again on ports to acquire more new technologies and to provide further deep berths to humongous vessels/ships that have recently come on board to challenge the ports world-wide as the transhipment gains momentum. Few ports will become lead players with various regions of trade. Great opportunities are available for tapping markets of CSR countries as well as that of the continent Africa. For KPT, more lucrative to tap would be the CSR and other landlocked countries of the South Asian Region. Market offers enormous opportunities for growth and expansion to leave the rest on ports to capitalise through value added services coupled with acquisition of latest equipment and technologies. Prosperity comes to those who struggle for it. Hence, KPT foresees a win-win situation ahead in future as well.
The article is written by Mr Shariq Amin Farooqui, Public Relations Officer, Karachi Port Trust.