Ministry, PN lock horns over Gwadar Free Zone land

[LRE]

ISMAIL DILAWAR
KARACHI (December 20 2008): While a jubilated government caravan welcoming the first urea ship would be drumming victory at Gwadar Port on December 21st, a lingering dispute between the Ministry of Ports and Shipping and Pakistan Navy (PN) over the 647-acre Gwadar Free Zone (GFZ) land is long testing the nerves of Port of Singapore Authority (PSA).
However, the ministry has sent a letter to President Asif Ali Zardari with a request that PN should immediately vacate the area, State Minister for Ports and Shipping Nabeel Gabol told Business Recorder. According to the Concession Agreement signed between Government of Pakistan (GoP) and PSA, the operator and concessionaire of Gwadar Port, the former was to hand over 926 hectares (2,288 acres) of land to the latter for GFZ by June 30, 2008.

It was agreed that in GFZ the Singaporean port operator would develop offices, residential facilities, port back up area and provide the traders, industrialists, businessmen, shipping companies, stevedoring firms, transporters with all possible facilities for doing business at Gwadar. But, according to sources the GoP has still not been able to get around 262 hectares (647 acres) of GFZ land vacated from PN and Pakistan Coast Guards, who are at loggerheads with the ministry for maintaining their occupation. "Without land, PSA can not build offices, residential facilities and provide exporters, importers, banks, shipping and stevedoring companies, and transporters any facility for doing business," they added.

When asked how PSA would handle the forthcoming fertiliser consignments in the absence of storage facilities at Port, the sources said, the cargo would directly be transported to its countrywide destinations without storage.

"Storage facilities, without which no cargo can be stored at the port, were to be built in the Free Zone," they added. They said in 1996 the then Prime Minister had declared that no land of Gwadar Port would ever be sold or transferred to anyone except the port itself, but in vain. "The government is negotiating the matter with the Navy which is asking for an alternate... the government always says it is trying to vacate the land," said the sources.
Gabol, however, said vacation of the port's surrounding area was necessary for expansion of the newly constructed deep-sea port. In this regard, he said, a formal request (letter) had been sent to the President requesting him to vacate the occupied land, which is adjacent to the port, from the naval forces and give it to PSA.

Business Recorder