PM Shehbaz orders initiatives to tap full potential of maritime trade

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday directed the relevant authorities to take special initiatives to tap the full potential of maritime trade and to spur economic growth, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The prime minister stated this while chairing a meeting here in Karachi regarding Karachi Port Trust, Port Qasim Authority and Pakistan National Shipping Corporation. The meeting was attended by federal ministers Muhammad Aurangzeb, Jam Kamal Khan, Ahad Cheema, Ata Tarar, Qaiser Sheikh, Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Shah, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Chairman PNSC and the relevant high officials.

On the occasion, the PM told the meeting that during his recent visit to Astana, Central Asian states have expressed deep interest in using Pakistan’s ports for trade, the prime minister said adding that “Pakistan could earn foreign exchange reserves worth billions of dollars by introducing modern systems in the ports”.

He stressed that the development of the existing ports in Karachi will increase exports from value addition industries. He highlighted that “development of private sector in the country, ease of doing business and facilitation of investors were the top priorities of the government”.

On the occasion, the PM directed to take steps to “minimize the custom clearance time by installing the modern equipment and machinery at Port Qasim and Karachi Port Trust”.

He also instructed to ensure the installation of state-of-the-art scanning machinery at the ports besides taking steps on priority to fully benefit from the ports’ potential.

To ensure uninterrupted delivery of goods to and from Karachi Port Trust, the prime minister directed the relevant authorities to keep the “Lyari Expressway for cargo traffic for 24 hours a day”.

The Malir Expressway should be connected to the port to further improve the delivery of goods, he added. He further directed to increase the capacity of supply of goods to and from Karachi Port through railway.

“Fees for LNG ships at Port Qasim should be reduced and fixed according to prevailing rates at the international level,” the prime minister said adding that a comprehensive action plan for the regulation of shipping lines should be prepared and presented on priority.

He directed the “Pakistan National Shipping Corporation to formulate and present a comprehensive plan to reduce its cost and make its operations effective”.

The prime minister said that he held meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of the Central Asian countries during his recent visit to Kazakhstan. Pakistan, he said offered the most suitable sea trade route for the Central Asian states.

By the grace of Allah, he said the economy of Pakistan was stable and moving towards growth and development. He said the government was providing all possible facilities to the exporters to ensure the development of Pakistan’s export industry.

The prime minister also directed the Karachi Port Trust to submit a report comparing the performance of the port with other ports in the region.