Govt to use Gwadar port for 60% of trade: minister

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh has said that the maritime sector in Pakistan is of key importance for economic development and the maritime policy will be announced soon after the approval of the cabinet.

Addressing the National Maritime Policy Workshop, he said that promoting maritime trade was indispensable for sustainable economic development. He said that last year the maritime sector had lost billions of rupees, but this year a profit target of Rs100 billion has been set. “There is a plan to increase exports from $32 billion to $60 billion in four years. He pointed out that Pakistani ports were working 50 percent less than their capacity. “If the volume of imports and exports is 90 billion dollars, it is expected to double in the next four years,” he added.

Qaiser Sheikh said that the trade opportunities in Central Asian countries were increasing rapidly, but they do not have their own ports, so they are depending on Pakistani ports. “Pakistan’s fisheries exports are 400 million dollars while our neighboring countries are far ahead of us in this sector.” The minister announced that the government of Pakistan had decided that 60pc of government imports and exports would be through the Gwadar port. “The Gwadar port will be equipped with world class facilities so that it can be transformed into a modern and complete port,” he maintained.