Gwadar shipyard project facing delay

Ministry says Balochistan govt has not yet signed MoU, provided land

ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Defence Production on Tuesday told a parliamentary panel that the government of Balochistan has not yet signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the ministry for establishing Gwadar Shipyard.

“Balochistan government has also not initiated process of transferring land for the shipyard to the ministry.  We request that the provincial government procure the land and transfer it to the ministry as soon as possible,” said Defence Production Secretary Lt Gen (Retd) Dr Zahid Latif.

He was briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Defence Production which met to discuss progress on the Gwadar Shipyard, planned to be built in Pasni city of Gwadar district.

The Balochistan cabinet on January 21 approved to allot 750 acres of land to the ministry for construction of the yard on 30% equity basis. The shipyard would initially offer ship repair and maintenance services at two dry docks. The facility would eventually lead to shipbuilding.

The committee chairman Lt Gen (Retd) Abdul Qayyum said shipyards are considered strategic assets for any country as they not only contribute to country’s indigenous commercial and defence pursuits but also help it earn lot of revenue through ship exports.

He emphasized the need to expedite work on the project for its timely completion.

The committee decided to take up the matter with the Balochistan government and to write a letter to the Chief Minister Jam Kamal in this regard.  It also decided to have an exclusive session on the overall progress made on the project.

The chairman said at time of its creation, Pakistan only inherited one shipyard at Chittagong which was modernized in 1922 by the British.

“Bangladesh now has 23 shipyards and has become ship exporting country. Pakistan remains dependent on the Karachi Shipyard and engineering Works Limited (KS&EW) constructed in 1957,” he added.

Defence Production Secretary Lt Gen (Retd) Dr Zahid Latif said a total of Rs100 billion budget was allocated for the ministry out of which Rs78 billion have been utilized.

He said aim of the defence production institutions is to meet requirements of the armed forces; achieve self-reliance through indigenization and contribute to the overall development of the country via effectively marketing the products.

The chairman observed that defence production institutions need to adopt outward policy and establish the defence production organizations as public-private interface to make it compatible with the international markets.

He emphasized that no compromise should be made on quality in order to remain internationally competitive. The committee called for making the defence production establishments more vibrant to compete in the international markets.

Senator Nauman Wazir Khattak said that the committee should be provided with a balance-sheet depicting the income and expenditure details of the ministry while Senator Pervaiz Rashid suggested adopting an open-up approach to transform the Defence Production institutions.

The committee was also briefed about status of audit paras in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) – the parliament’s accountability arm.

Currently more than 550 audit paras are pending before the PAC and efforts are being made to take up them as early as possible. The chairman directed the ministry to vigorously pursue the pending paras.