INVESTMENT
In fiscal year 2013-2014, the Karachi Port recorded 1,590,000 TEUs containerized cargo. In fiscal year 2014-15 there was an 8.4 percent growth, with the figure reaching 1,720,000 TEUs. It is to be noted that the year on year growth has been fairly consistent for the past many years, reflecting both an increase in overall trade and perhaps also a growing shift from bulk to containerized shipments, as the corresponding year of year increase in bulk cargo was only about 5 percent, rising from 41,350,000 tons in 2013-2014 to 43,420,000 tons in 2014-2015. During this year, the Port handled 790 containerships as compared to 193 bulk cargo ships.
This trend is very much reflective of changing global trends for trade by sea, with containerized cargo quite rapidly becoming the norm, not only due to overall world trade growth, but also due to its cost effectiveness, more convenience in handling and transportation and even greater safety and security of cargoes. One expert believes that in ten years of time, about 90 percent of the general cargo segment will be shipped in containers. This will even include goods normally associated with bulk shipment, like forest products, steel, automotive, chemicals, food and so on.
At the same time, container ships are getting larger and larger, with the latest ‘mother’ ships being at least 2 times more in length than the earliest container vessels, as can be seen from the accompanying table.
These huge vessels offer immediately obvious benefits to both the owners and to their customers. Not only can they carry a substantially larger number of containers and cargo, they also offer the great convenience and cost savings of direct point to point transcontinental shipments, without the need for transshipment in between. So looking ahead, both containerized shipment and shipment by large to very large container vessels is very much the future for world trade.
Fortunately, Pakistan is getting well-prepared for this future. Increased containerized cargo and increasing size and usage of large to very large vessels makes the development of a deep-sea port which can accommodate such vessels a critical priority. Three container sea ports we currently have are relatively low draft and cannot accommodate the ‘mother’ vessels. As a result the cargo from and to Pakistan, from all over the world, either has to be shipped on smaller vessels with less capacity, or has to be transshipped at some deep-sea port in the region onto the mother ships which call there. All this means systemic inefficiencies, extra costs, time lags, multiple handling of cargo and even a big risk of something going wrong.
It is also to be noted that present container terminals at Karachi Port were originally bulk cargo berths and as such were not designed or laid out to be efficient container terminals. A container terminal ideally requires a huge yard area behind the berths where stacking, storing and movement of thousands of containers can be carried out fast.
The game-changer for our international trade, future-proof and full of promise, is the fast under development first deep-sea port of Pakistan. The Karachi Port Trust has invested over $ 800 million in creating the land area for this new container port, outside of the relatively shallow Karachi harbor. Investing $ 600 million to start with for the port’s high-tech infrastructure development is Hutchison Port Holdings Limited (HPH) of Hong Kong, the port and related services division of CK Hutchison Holdings Limited (CK Hutchison). It is the world’s leading port investor, developer and operator, with a network comprising of 319 berths in 52 ports, spanning over 26 countries across Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe, Americas and Austrasia.
This new port, to be operated under the name of South Asia Pakistan Terminals Limited, or SAPT for short, will be a remarkable infrastructure development, and in due course will become a key facility for the success of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) also. It has a prime location, at the mouth of the Karachi Harbour, and hence offers easier accessibility for vessels, shorter distance, shorter steaming time, no tide restriction and easy navigation. It will be the only port with mega vessel capacity, with a 16.5 meters depth alongside and able to accommodate the world’s largest container ships which presently cannot come to Pakistan ports
The proposed port will be the only container port in Pakistan to be designed and built as a specialized container port, with all required infrastructure. This will include automated gates with identity cards, RTGCs with position determination systems, remote controlled cranes (operated with CROS) and quay cranes, Super Post Panamax, with 25 across reach and twin lift up to 60 meters.
The infrastructure that will be put in place also focuses on greater convenience and efficiency for the end users – the exporters and importers. A web based payment system will mean that shippers and importers will not have to physically visit the Port to settle payments, saving a lot of work time and effort.
This new deep sea container port will also have a low carbon footprint. A Reverse Osmosis filtration system will ensure efficient in-house supply of potable water. The hybrid RTG Cranes and the LNG trucks to be used will have a low carbon footprint. Use of solar energy is also incorporated in the design, with the main electrical power coming from a captive power plant, thus not putting pressure on the national grid. And for the first time in Pakistan, a Regenerative Power Absorption System will be commissioned, increasing electrical power efficiencies.
However it is to be noted that the operational efficiency of this project of great national importance can get seriously impacted if some looming issues are not quickly resolved. While the new container terminal can handle very large volumes of containerized cargo, the road and rail link leading out from the port to the upcountry routes is missing. So the throughput achievable at the terminal itself will be severely hampered if the import cargo containers cannot be taken upcountry, or the export cargo containers cannot be brought to the terminal expeditiously.
The government therefore needs to address this issue on priority basis, finding funding locally or sourcing international funding to build the road and rail links required of high standard and capacity.
The writer is a PR prossional
