KARACHI: The Karachi Port is going to develop multi-purpose and environment-friendly terminals at East Wharf where some of the collapsed berths along with others have recently been reconstructed at an estimated cost of Rs130 million.

These berths have the quay length of 1,236 metres and a draft of 13 metres, sources said.

While reconstructing berths no. 10 to 17, the port authorities simultaneously took up the task of constructing berth no. 17 A, B and C – previously known as ship repair berths – which allowed an additional quay length of 440 metres. All berths have a backup area to meet high cargo volumes.

Responding to a question, a Karachi Port Trust (KPT) official said the port will continue to operate on the basis of the “landlord concept.” This means the new terminals will be handed over to the private sector for an efficient turnaround of ships, which cannot be achieved in the public sector, he said.

He added that the construction cost of berths no 10 to 14 is around Rs45m and that of berths no. 15 to 17 A, B and C is Rs85m. By taking up construction work at many berths simultaneously, the port has managed to get the quay of 1,676 metres, which can be used prudently for the multi-purpose terminals.

These terminals will be dedicated to the handling of bulk cargo, coal, chemicals and edible oil. As a result, the port will move away from the traditional handling of bulk cargo, containers and petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL). The new terminals will diversify port activities in an environment-friendly manner, the sources said.

Developing new terminals will also provide more space to the Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT), which has been facing congestion due to the high volume of container movement.

Currently, the PICT is using berths no. 6 to 9, with a total quay of around 600 metres. This puts the terminal at a disadvantage because it can handle only one vessel at a time.

In contrast, the Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT) at West Wharf has a total quay of around 965 metres, which can accommodate two ships of 305 metres length at the same time.

The port recorded growth of 17 per cent in cargo handling last year and the future projections are even higher.

The situation on the oil piers is already becoming difficult owing to a greater import volume of POL products as a result of their low prices and high demand, the sources said.

The port plans to shift the import of edible oils and chemicals to the new, dedicated terminals because their pumping from the ship to oil piers, or from the shore to the ship, takes lot of time.

Berth no. 17 A, B and C also has railway connectivity, which will help the terminal operator achieve the rapid movement of bulk cargo from the port to the hinterland, the sources said.

Published in Dawn September 11th, 2016