KARACHI: Shipping is the life force for the global economy and without it, the intercontinental trade, the bulk transport of raw materials, and the import/export of affordable food and manufactured goods would simply not be possible.
Sources said Port Qasim is Pakistan’s first industrial and multi-purpose deep sea port. Port Qasim offers innumerable advantages over Karachi, which has allowed it to develop as a true international gateway. Located in Indus delta region at a distance of 50 km South East of Karachi, the port is well connected to all over the country through modern modes of transportation and has been playing an important role in the economic uplift of the country. Port Qasim is 28 nautical mile from Karachi Port. It comprises two multi-purpose berths of 400 meters each, with design capacity of 6 to 7 million tons annually. The port can handle ships of 225m of length and 10m of dept. The berths can handle all types of cargo.
Sources said that the Qasim International Containers Terminal (QICT) has total area of 240,000 sq. meters and has a capacity of 0.85 million TUUs annually. It can handle ships up to 300 meters of length. QICT sources claimed that they have employed over 6000 employees and the company is in the first 10 companies paying the highest taxes. They also claimed that the Dubai government has invested billions in QICT and other places of Pakistan, adding that QICT was the pioneer in implementing the cutting edge Cisco IP telephony based container tracking system (IVR) and an SMS based container tracking system, whereby the importer or the exporter can find out the full details of their cargo sitting anywhere in Pakistan.
Sources further said QICT was constituted on July 5, 1994 specifically to tender for the construction and operation of what would be Pakistan’s first Dedicated International Container Terminal, to be built at Port Muhammad Bin Qasim on a build/own/operate basis. Furthermore, as soon as PaCCS customs releases any container, a notification SMS is sent to the importer/exporter instantly.
On the other hand, Maersk Pakistan, which claims to be the largest shipping company in Pakistan, is a fully owned subsidiary of the Maersk group which provides liner ocean transportation services. Sources at Maersk said that it provides the broadest network coverage and competitive transit times, and support with the most efficient processes to meet supply chain requirements. Maersk line is providing shipping services from last 25 years in Pakistan. Maersk Pakistan claims to also have efficient and timely customs house brokerage including: import customs clearance, export customs clearance, bonded transport documentation (TP), exports-rebate processing and bonded warehousing & unbonded warehousing.
In Pakistan, Ministry of Maritime Affairs is the central administrative authority primarily assigned to regulate and facilitate the ports and shipping industry of Pakistan by providing policy guideline to encourage port development and growth in shipping while maintaining safety standards. Ports & Shipping industry is performing well in Pakistan where QICT and Maersk line claim to have taken the lead.
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