KARACHI: The Karachi Port Trust is inviting sealed proposals from private developers to build and operate a new container freight station on port land in Keamari, officials said, as part of a broader push to expand Pakistan’s transshipment capacity.
The station will be built on 4 to 5 acres at Jungle Shah under a 25-year lease and managed through a public-private partnership, according to KPT’s notice.
Under the arrangement, known as a royalty and lease rent model, the winning bidder will pay KPT through three revenue streams: a fixed royalty on every container handled based on actual throughput; a minimum guaranteed monthly royalty regardless of volume; and monthly land rent that will rise 10% annually under the terms of the eventual lease agreement.
Karachi’s container-handling capacity is split between the Karachi Port Trust and Port Qasim, which together can process more than 6 million twenty-foot equivalent units a year. Both ports have upgraded operations in recent years to accommodate larger container vessels.
The freight station project comes as the federal government moves forward with a wider set of maritime initiatives aimed at establishing Pakistan as a regional transshipment hub. Officials said the measures were approved based on recommendations from a high-level committee formed by the prime minister and chaired by Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry.
Among the approvals is authorization for ports to handle bulk and break-bulk cargo under transshipment arrangements, a change, officials said should increase throughput and draw new shipping lines by easing the movement of grains, coal, minerals and project cargo.
Officials said the policy could also benefit landlocked Central Asian countries seeking transit routes to warm-water ports.
The government is timing the push to coincide with shifts in regional trade patterns, as geopolitical tensions and security concerns prompt shippers to look for alternative routes, officials said. They described Pakistan’s location at the intersection of South Asia, Central Asia and the Arabian Sea as an advantage in competing for a larger share of that traffic.
Officials said the initiatives are intended to boost foreign exchange earnings, create jobs in logistics and related industries, and shift Pakistan’s ports from transit points toward broader regional connectivity.
