KARACHI: Hutchison Ports Pakistan received three new remote-controlled quaycranes to mark the beginning of the terminal’s second phase in Karachi. Thedevelopment will make Pakistan the first country in the South Asia regionto install semi-automated, cabin-less cranes.

Pakistan’s first and only deep-water container port received the firstinstallment of these high-tech cranes, under their agreement signed withShanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd, China (ZPMC) recently, for thepurchase of 8 new cabin-less remote-controlled quay cranes, and 24remote-controlled rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGCs). This incomingequipment will be the first of its kind in the country.

Hutchison Ports Pakistan is the first container terminal in Pakistan thathas adopted remote-controlled, semi-automatic and driver-less cabtechnology for its quay cranes. The new remote-controlled quay cranes willbe able to lift a container weighing up to 65 tons under the spreader,ensuring safe and smooth operations.

“This is a historic day for Hutchison Ports Pakistan. With the arrival ofthree new cranes, we have affirmed our commitment to Pakistan’s trade andeconomy and we shall continue doing so in the future,” said Captain SyedRashid Jamil, General Manager & Head of Business Unit, Hutchison PortsPakistan.

“The addition of these cranes will significantly increase ourcontainer-handling capacity as well as our overall efficiency.

We will be able to further enhance the speed of our operations, directlyand indirectly benefitting our customers immensely.”

The deployment of the new cranes is expected to be completed in four days.Following this installation, the terminal will have a total of 11remote-controlled quay cranes which will significantly increase the overallefficiency of operations.

The remaining 5 cranes will arrive at the port by 2021. Furthermore, thecompany expects to receive 11 RTGCs by October this year while theremaining 13 will arrive by 2021.