Construction to start on Karachi container port
Construction work on Pakistan's new deep-water container port east of Keamari Groyne is scheduled to begin by September this year and the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) is expected to spend $345 million for its part of the project, news reports said.
The rest of the estimated $1.1 billion needed for the development will come from private investments according to the planned public-private partnership for project costs.
Reports say that the KPT expects completion of the project which will mean full operations to begin as early as June 2010, while first phase construction is scheduled to kick off come September.
First phase development will include the construction of a $535 million container terminal with four berths capable of accomodating post-Panamax vessels with individual loading capacities in excess of 14,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per ship.
When fully operational the port will boast 18-metre deep channels and 10 berths able to handle the world's largest vessels.
KPA officials have said that second phase development will already enable the port to handle up to 1.5 million TEUs per year.
Reports say that with this project Pakistan will be the first country in the world to have an 18-metre deep harbour for a container terminal.
The deepest harbour for any container terminal in the world currently is not more than 17 metres, said news reports.
Shipping companies have been choosing new larger vessels which can accommodate larger volumes of containers for haulage as this would translate to freight competitiveness, said KPA officials.
By taking an enhanced position in terms of a cutting-edge deep-water container facility, Pakistan expects to attract global cargo shipments along with helping its own national trade systems reduce cost and transit time, they added.
Presently most cargo shipments intended for Pakistan go to other regional ports first before being transferred to Karachi via feeder services.
KPA officials expect the reverse to happen upon completion of the new port with major shipping lines deciding to call at Karachi with their post-Panamax vessels and discharge both direct and transit cargo meant for other ports in the region.