CM Raisani not satisfied with performance of PSA

Chief Minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani has said that the people of Balochistan have pinned high hopes on the Gwadar deep sea port.

He made the statement during a briefing on the Gwadar port on Wednesday. Attendees at the meeting included Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Ghauri, Minister for Communications Dr Arbab Alamgir Khan, Balochistan’s Finance Minister Mir Asim Kurd and senior bureaucrats.

Raisani said economic benefits of the Gwadar port would not materialise unless it was made operational. Local population, dependent mainly on fishing, has already suffered a hit after the construction of the port, he said. “The local fishing community has been witnessing a substantial decrease in their catch since the port area used to be a breeding ground for various fish varieties,” he added.

In view of the fishermen’s problems, the provincial government has decided to build two alternate fish harbours, one each at Sur-Bandar and Pishukan.

The chief minister expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), which has been granted a lease of the port for 40 years. He expressed his reservations on the contract made by the federal government with the PSA, saying that his government would like to run the port itself.  To this, Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Ghauri said his ministry had no objection to it.

The meeting also discussed various issues related to the Gwadar port, including hiring local transporters and shipping agents and giving employments to local population. Gwadar port’s Acting Chairman Ghulam Farooq Baloch apprised the meeting of financial constraints and port handling operations.

The meeting also called upon the Ministry of Communications to expedite the work on the Gwadar-Khuzdar-Ratodero national highway to ensure smooth transportation to and from the Gwadar port. The minister for communications assured early release of funds to the National Highways Authority (NHA) for the construction and maintenance of highways passing through Balochistan.

The meeting informed that about 600 acres of land, currently in Pakistan Navy’s possession, would be handed over to the Gwadar Port Authority, for carrying out development in the port area in accordance with the Gwadar Master Plan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2010.