Deep water port: Karachi Port Trust hits back on allegations
Refutes accusations of impropriety; points out the need for such a project.
KARACHI:
After coming under a scathing attack during a Senate committee hearing on the Pakistan Deep Water Container Port, the Karachi Port Trust has hit back against the charges levelled against them, stating that Senator Gulshan Saeed of the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid simply has her facts wrong.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the KPT – the authority managing the largest port in the country – refuted every allegation levelled against them point by point, and then went on to mention what they said were the factual inaccuracies of some of the senator’s accusations.
In a hearing of a sub-committee of the Senate Ports and Shipping Committee, Saeed had lambasted the KPT, calling the deep water port – which most policy experts agree is a badly needed project that is long overdue – was unconstitutional and was causing a ‘loss to the national exchequer.’ KPT generates its own revenues and does not take any money from the federal government.
Officials at the KPT, who wished to remain anonymous because they are not authorised to speak to the media, said that the project is absolutely essential since it would overcome what is currently the biggest weakness of the Karachi Port: that it cannot currently allow some of the largest ships in the world to dock since it is not deep enough to accommodate their size.
The press release issued by the KPT pointed out that the authority followed all government procurement rules in awarding the contract for the dredging and construction of the port. A spokesperson for the KPT said that the senator’s central accusation – that the KPT was not authorised to undertake the project – was not correct, since the KPT is an autonomous body and was authorised to undertake projects on land that it owns.
After coming under a scathing attack during a Senate committee hearing on the Pakistan Deep Water Container Port, the Karachi Port Trust has hit back against the charges levelled against them, stating that Senator Gulshan Saeed of the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid simply has her facts wrong.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the KPT – the authority managing the largest port in the country – refuted every allegation levelled against them point by point, and then went on to mention what they said were the factual inaccuracies of some of the senator’s accusations.
In a hearing of a sub-committee of the Senate Ports and Shipping Committee, Saeed had lambasted the KPT, calling the deep water port – which most policy experts agree is a badly needed project that is long overdue – was unconstitutional and was causing a ‘loss to the national exchequer.’ KPT generates its own revenues and does not take any money from the federal government.
Officials at the KPT, who wished to remain anonymous because they are not authorised to speak to the media, said that the project is absolutely essential since it would overcome what is currently the biggest weakness of the Karachi Port: that it cannot currently allow some of the largest ships in the world to dock since it is not deep enough to accommodate their size.
The press release issued by the KPT pointed out that the authority followed all government procurement rules in awarding the contract for the dredging and construction of the port. A spokesperson for the KPT said that the senator’s central accusation – that the KPT was not authorised to undertake the project – was not correct, since the KPT is an autonomous body and was authorised to undertake projects on land that it owns.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 6th, 2011.