ISLAMABAD: (APP) A Chinese shipping company is all set to start work on Pakistan Shipping Terminal which would ensure mega-ships access to Karachi - the biggest commercial hub of Pakistan.
Hutchison's terminal operations in Pakistan will begin before end of the year.
As per agreement with Karachi Port Trust, the company plans to invest here as Pakistan becomes posed for growth. This is all part of China's plans to invest about $ 46 billion power plants and road projects under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
According to KPT most of the work is done and the leftover dredging and road work will be completed before the launch.
Abid Butt, CEO of a freight company, on Wednesday said Pakistan has been lagging behind big time and now we are moving into future with this terminal being one of the deepest in the region.
More than half of the country's trade is dependent on transshipment.
According to Butt, the roads and communication networks surrounding the port need to be expanded as well to manage the arrival and departure of additional cargo through the super-sized ships.
It is mentioned here that Pakistan currently handles about 2.5 million twenty-foot containers including those from Hutchison's first venture Karachi International Container Terminal. The International Container Terminal was launched in 1998.
South Asia Pakistan Terminals Ltd. is expected to manage as much as 1.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units this year and increase the national container capacity by more than 50%.
The Hutchison is expected to start operating in October and is estimated to handle about 250,000 twenty-foot equivalent units during its first year of operations. The port will increase it to 2 million units in the next five years.