Work on KPT track may begin soon

Railways ministry seeks support of cabinet body for building freight corridor

ISLAMABAD:

The government is set to build a dedicated double-track corridor from Karachi Port to a new rail-to-logistics terminal in Pipri Marshalling Yard to tackle port congestion.

Sources told The Express Tribune that around 10,000 containers were parked at Karachi Port, which was a cause of severe congestion.

The matter was referred to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) but no response came. Furthermore, the matter of lack of storage space at the West Wharf was still pending resolution.

The Ministry of Railways, in a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Transport and Logistics, sought its support for executing the plan of building a double-track corridor.

It was pointed out that a rail logistics study, carried out with the assistance of World Bank, had recommended the development of a dedicated double-track corridor from Karachi Port to a new rail-to-logistics terminal in Pipri Marshalling Yard.

Pakistan Railways has completed feasibility study and it will serve as the Extended Gate Facility for Karachi.

The Gate Facility will be built under the public-private partnership mode and a policy in this regard will be implemented in consultation with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.

Container Operator and Customs, FBR will be required on an immediate basis for successful execution of the project to achieve the intended objectives.

In the cabinet committee meeting, the Ministry of Railways sought pieces of land in the East Wharf and West Wharf for container stacking and loading at Karachi Port container terminals.

It requested Karachi Port Trust (KPT) to give assurance that railways would be provided the first right of refusal for taking containers to the intended destination.

The cabinet body was informed that thousands of containers were parked at Karachi Port, which were a cause of severe congestion.

The committee considered a summary titled “KPT Pipri Dedicated Freight Corridor”, submitted by the Ministry of Railways.

It decided that KPT would facilitate the Ministry of Railways in the development of terminals for container stacking and loading at the port, including the provision of land in the East Wharf and West Wharf.

It agreed when Pipri’s bonded warehouse was completed, all containerised cargo would be transported from Karachi Port to the Pipri warehouse for customs clearance.

New rail link

The cabinet committee was also briefed about a new rail link from Pakistan International Bulk Terminal (PIBT) to the network of Pakistan Railways.

The railways ministry had submitted some proposals for consideration and approval of the cabinet body.

It proposed that Port Qasim Authority (PQA) would provide sufficient land adjacent to PIBT for the development of a railway yard for direct dispatch of trains. At least a six-lane yard is required for the efficient movement of trains.

The ministry sought the assurance of PIBT for providing the first right of refusal to the railways so that rail lines could be completely utilised.

It was proposed that a committee comprising the divisional superintendent Pakistan Railways Karachi, DG (land), DG (project) and PQA may be constituted to finalise the requirements and modalities.

During discussion, the cabinet body observed that the Ministry of Railways did not indicate how much land adjacent to PIBT was required for the development of railway yard.

It was noted that there was a dire need to fine-tune the proposals to enable the committee to make informed decisions.

It was also observed that specific information about the requirement of land was not available, therefore, further discussion could not take place. The cabinet body agreed to the argument.

It reviewed a summary titled “New Rail Link from PIBT to Pakistan Railways Network”, submitted by the Ministry of Railways, and constituted a committee to deliberate on the proposal in a holistic manner. The new committee will submit viable recommendations for review.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2022.

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