FAISALABAD: The Faisalabad Dry Port (FDP) authorities have recently signed an agreement with DP World, a private company operating at Port Qasim to provide cargo train facility from the FDP to Karachi Port.
Talking to Customs Today, FDP Chairman Chaudhry Muhammad Siddique said the DP World has a portfolio of more than 60 marine terminals across six continents, including new developments underway in India, Africa, Europe and Middle East.
Faisalabad’s business community, particularly importers and exporters, will again start using the dry port with a greater potential of cargo service which had been suspended by the Pakistan Railways three years ago. He said the dry port authorities moved to sign the deal with the new party after repeated pleas could not convince the Pakistan Railways to restore the cargo facility.
He said the suspension of the cargo service caused huge losses to industrialists, importers and exporters due to increasing cost of transportation. The FDP chairman said that the unavailability of cargo facilities at the dry port had a negative impact on national exports. The exporters and importers could save millions of rupees once the DP World started the service and it would be cheaper than trailer service.
According to official data of the last five years, business at the FDP has drastically dropped. In 2008-09, the number of export containers were 18,687 and in 2013-14 it was 7,676.
In 2005-06, the port handled 5,660 imports consignments, which fell to 2,086 in 2013-14. The port authorities held the Pakistan Railways responsible for the downward slide. Siddique said that the new cargo service would decrease the cost of cargo charges. The cargo handling services have remained suspended at the port for the last three years as the Pakistan Railways was not in a position to provide service due to financial and logistics restraints, leading to a significant increase in the cost of doing business for the exporters, importers and industrialists.
He said the efficiency of the port had been consistently decreasing, which is now expected to revive after the new agreement.
He said that the Faisalabad Dry Port had bigger business potential and dimensions of export and import cargo were going to be increased owing to economic and trade activities. He said that efforts would be made to keep the business cost equal to that of other ports of the country.
