Govt plans to slash $4bn trade bill with PNSC fleet expansion

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has issued a directive for the immediate preparation of a comprehensive business plan for the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC), aiming to alleviate a significant annual burden of $4 billion on the national exchequer. 

The directive about the business plan, which is to be presented within two weeks, came during a high-level meeting chaired by the premier in Islamabad today, focused on the affairs of the PNSC. 

Attendees included Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for Maritime Affairs Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, and senior officials from the PNSC.

During the meeting, PM Shehbaz underscored the urgent need to expand the PNSC's fleet. 

He instructed relevant authorities to acquire ships on lease, noting that the current insufficient number of vessels in the PNSC fleet is directly contributing to the substantial annual foreign exchange outflow on sea trade.

"Due to a reduced number of ships in the PNSC fleet, the country has to spend approximately $4 billion annually from the national exchequer on maritime trade," he said.

During a briefing on PNSC's performance, the prime minister was also informed that the corporation currently possesses 10 ships of various types, with a combined cargo-carrying capacity of 724,643 tonnes.

This move comes days after PM Shehbaz called on the nation to unlock the vast potential of the blue economy which he termed as Pakistan's "new economic frontier".