KARACHI, May 15: The Karachi Port is to undertake development of infrastructure, including the quay wall, dredging, reclamation and marine protection works of the country’s first deep water container port in September soon after the current monsoon season is over, official sources said on Thursday.

The project being built at an estimated cost of $1.6 billion will be carried out in phases and under public-private partnership. However, the first phase of the deep water port at a cost of around $1 billion will be completed by middle of 2011 when the first post-Panamax ship will be given 16 meters deep draught berth.

The KPT has already awarded the deep water container port concession for a period of 25 years to a top ranking container terminal operator Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) of Hong Kong on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis.

According to the agreement the KPT will earn a total of $2.524 billion over the tenure of this concession. The minimum guaranteed royalty over 25 years is $1.42 billion, lease amount is $0.412 billion and estimated wharfage and wet charges are projected at $0.970 billion.

Sources said that a $25 million towards advance payment had already been received by the KPT from HPH from a total of $100 million lease payment as per the contract.

The terminal operator HPH will have to carryout development work behind the quay wall, including construction of terminals and equipments by investing $457 million in the first phase.

The first phase of the project includes construction of four berths at 16-meter depth extendable to 18 meters with a quay wall of 1,500 meters. For this the KPT will undertake marine protection works, which will include construction of three breakwaters and a sand dyke.

Brig (retd) Jamshaid Zaidi, who heads the KPT’s development and planning department, told Dawn that the marine protection works had been envisaged to comprise of three rock or concrete armoured breakwaters to provide shelter to the port basin and for preventing flow of sediment into the basin.

He further disclosed that the dredging volume for the deep water port being built at Keamari Groyne will be 34 million cubic meters and the channel shall be initially deepened to 16 meters.