KARACHI: The efficient ports are the lifeline of the economy by virtue of their key role for the promotion of trade and industry and thus contributing significantly in growth of economies around the world, said Capt. Haleem A. Siddiqui, Chairman Marine Group of Companies, in an exclusive interview with Customs Today.
Capt. Haleem A. Siddiqui who is always confident about economic potential of the country and has achieved a number of milestones in his professional career which gave new impetus to the emerging business houses in Pakistan.
His outstanding achievements include the prestigious development of a well-equipped and modern container terminal i.e. Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT) at Karachi Port.
The container handling operations and quality cargo facilitation speaks itself about the amount of passion and efforts he put in to develop this landmark project which can be described as second to none in the port facilitation services.
The terminal developed by Marine Group of Companies offers modern and deep berths in Pakistan with a planned draft of 13.5 meters and ensures to maintain the sanctioned depth even during monsoon. PICT with its substantial spare yard space on the East Wharf for additional yard handling capacity makes the handling operation more impressive where latest container scanning and radiation detection facility makes the operation well secured, while the terminal works round the clock. Strengthened with handling capacity of over 750,000 TEUs per annum, the terminal supplements its operations with the availability of on-site rail link to up-country.
The upcoming “Dirty Cargo Terminal” at Port Qasim is bound to play an eye catching role in resolving the nasty issue of power shortage as well as reducing cost of power generation which is the major concern of every citizen in Pakistan.
Actually the Dirty Cargo would be a dedicated terminal for handling coal which is destined to be future of power generation in Pakistan, said Capt. Haleem Siddiqui.
The terminal which is likely to go into operation by early 2015 has become the focal point of all major power producing companies which have already gone into contract signing with the bulk cargo terminal.
This terminal was originally designed to deal with 9 million tons of capacity but the growing demand for coal has encouraged the management to enhance its capacity from 9 million tons to 12 million tons.
The project being developed with the financial support of the World Bank will be a unique project as it is being supported by an exclusive cargo track from Karachi to up-country for supplying coal to the power generating units across the country through the fast rail track. The bulk cargo terminal supported by cargo train is going to set an example for the private sector’s potential in Pakistan.
Attaching a great amount of hope and confidence in the economic future of Pakistan despite all persisting odds faced by the country, Haleem was quite optimistic about the economic future of the country. He strongly recommended that private sector in Pakistan should be given preference in the privatization of ill-performing government owned units, because our own people have the ability to do wonders, he remarked.