Balochistan has requested the federal government to import wheat through Gwadar Port, which is yet to become commercially operational.

The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) is being persuaded by the federal government to import wheat through Gwadar Port. If TCP imports wheat through Gwadar, it would be the second shipment at the new port this year.

TCP however does not consider it economical to import wheat via Gwadar where handling and transportation charges cost more to the corporation as compared to Port Qasim and Karachi Port.

Offloading of ships at the Gwadar Port can generate trucking and employment opportunities for local labour. Gwadar can also provide an alternative to Port Qasim and Karachi Port, where larger vessels cannot be handled and this can reduce dependence on the country`s other two ports. At least 20 per cent of the workload of other ports should be shifted to Gwadar.

Gwadar needs support of the federal government in terms of allocation of assured cargo to become operational. Senate Standing Committee on Ports and Shipping recently expressed its concern over the slow pace of work on the Gwadar Port project and the under-construction highways to connect various cities to the port.

The committee urged the government to make the port operational ultimately to be used as transit port for large ships. Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Qamar Zaman Kaira had reportedly told the committee that the government was taking steps to make the port operational by the end of this year. The ministry informed the committee that the ECC meeting had decided that all imported wheat would be routed through Gwadar Port.

The Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) International, the operator of Gwadar Port, has so far been unable to develop the port and bring foreign investment. Since the official opening of the Gwadar Port last year, the ship agents and cargo consultants have been waiting for the announcement of port tariff by the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA).

The first shipment at Gwadar Port cost dearly to the TCP, which had chartered a Panamax class vessel Post Glory for importing 72,000 metric tons of wheat from Canada. TCP contends that the ship docked at Gwadar Port was not properly handled increasing the cost of imported wheat manifold.

The vessel which arrived in March was not allowed to berth at the port and stopped at the outer anchorage for the lighterage. A vessel from Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC), M V Hyderabad had been engaged for lighterage and around 9,000 tons of wheat were unloaded before the Post Glory was allowed to berth at the Gwadar Port.

The TCP had expected to save $17 per metric ton by anchoring the ship at Gwadar, as PSA had offered concessional rates, as compared to the country`s other ports, for unloading the imported wheat. Lighterage of the weight of Post Glory into another vessel and the process of discharging wheat had created extra financial burden on the corporation, as it hired another vessel, technical staff, required machinery and labour, besides the demurrage charges.

The port still lacks the required infrastructural facilities to make it functional, according to a fact-finding report prepared by the Standing Committee on Research and Development of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Gwadar Port. The report points out there are no internal roads and services and water, gas, power and communication services for the new township and the industrial zones are non-existent.

There are no warehouses or cold storages in the area. No significant progress has been made so far in respect to development of commercial and residential areas and buildings, and there are no labour related amenities for accommodating thousands of workers to be employed on a functional seaport.

The arrival of the first vessel at the territorial waters of Gwadar in March gave rise to many questions about specifications and parameters of Pakistan`s first deep-sea port for berthing a Panamax class vessel with a draft of 14 metres. It had an official speed of 15.6 knots and 10177 MT light-ship-weight with a 39,964 gross international tonnage and 26,025 net tonnage. It failed to meet the specifications and parameters of Gwadar Port with the approach channel and berths having a draft of not more than 12.5 metre.

Critics accuse the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) of not maintaining draft of approach channel and berths by doing regular dredging, as at the time of official opening of the port in March 2007, it had a 14-metre draft. Some local experts believe that the draft has reduced due to accumulation of silt, as during the year 2007 there had been cyclones and heavy monsoon rains.

Experts had warned the arrival of huge vessel to unload wheat at the new port of Gwadar may damage the jetty with a designed capacity of 50,000 dead weight tonnage (DWT) and hence it would not bear the pressure and load of the vessel having 72,000 DWT.

Similarly, the port has only two tugs of 30 tons Bollard Pull, whereas the Panamax vessel needs at least two tugs of 60 tons for turning it within the 480-metre basin of the port. Experts feared that if the 30 tons tugs were used for this huge vessel, it might swing them and cause some mishap.