Gwadar port faces hurdles

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Aftab Maken
ISLAMABAD: The government’s lack of political will and some hidden forces are the main hurdles in the way of fully operationalising the Gwadar deep-sea port, it is reliably learnt.

The port, which is the third deep-sea port in the country, was inaugurated in March 2005 by then president Pervez Musharraf and became operational in March this year when first ship carrying 52,000 tonnes of wheat from Canada berthed at the port.

“Without the federal government’s active support, the Gwadar port cannot be operational and it will remain a dream to make it a hub of activities in the area and an alternative port for the rest of the country,” said Muhammad Salim Khan, Secretary Ports and Shipping, when asked for comments.

The federal government provided not only funds but also infrastructure facilities to the two main ports in Karachi in the recent past, he said.

According to experts, the port would prove to be a trade corridor for central Asian states, China and the Gulf as 60 per cent trade of oil and gas is done through this route. China has provided 80 per cent of Gwadar port’s $248 million initial development cost.

“It is the political will of the government that can only make the port operational, otherwise it is not economically viable to ship imported goods from other ports of the world,” said a member of a committee formed by the Economic Coordination Committee to report on the economic viability of the port.

The ECC of the cabinet, after the request of Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, directed the authorities concerned to allow one-third of total imported wheat to be shipped to Gwadar but later changed the decision saying that the allocation should be made after reviewing economic viability of the shipments. Finally, the ECC formed a committee to submit a report for making the port operational.

“None of the shipping companies and importers were ready to offer lower bids for shipments to the Gwadar port compared to the Port Qasim and Karachi Port thus leaving no option for the authorities but to receive imported commodities at the two main ports,” said another member of the committee.

Another problem for imported goods at Gwadar is that the importers need extra Rs2,200 per tonne to transport the goods from Gwadar to Karachi or to Quetta via Sukkur as infrastructure facilities were yet to be completed, the official added.

Putting aside all these reservations about the Gwadar port, the ports and shipping secretary said, “there was celebration in the town when first ship from Canada docked at the port last year and businesses like hotelling and other related activities were in full swing.”

Citing another hurdle in the way of Gwadar port, a national leader from Balohcistan was of the view that a powerful lobby from Karachi was mainly behind this to block it as it would hurt activities at the ports in Karachi.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=138291