First export ship to embark on journey from Gwadar Port

Ministry officials, Chinese company heads to be present on the occasion

ISLAMABAD: The first consignment, comprising fish exports, is expected to depart from Gwadar Port on Monday, formally kicking off commercial activities, said Federal Secretary for Ports and Shipping Khalid Pervez.

The Chinese Overseas Ports Holding Company is responsible for operation of the port; officials from the company would be present on the occasion along with others including Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Kamran Micheal.

On Sunday, the Chinese Overseas Shipping Company (COSCO) will bring empty containers to the port before they will be loaded with fish, marking the formal inauguration of export from the deep sea port.

The Chinese have taken control of the activities for export of their products to Central Asian countries and Middle East in the long run, part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Project, which was recently kicked off by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his last-month visit to Pakistan.

Import activity from the Gwadar Port began in 2009. Since then, cargoes containing fertilisers and wheat have been imported through this port by the government.

However, the private sector has yet to start its export/import from the Gwadar Port, hindered because of the connecting roads being under construction. The Economic Coordination Committee of cabinet had decided in 2009 that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan(TCP) should use Gwadar for the import of wheat and fertiliser via the newly establish port aimed at starting the operation gradually.

A senior officer in the Ministry of Ports and Shipping said that the Gwadar Port has been given to the Chinese company on the basis of the ‘Land Lord Port Concept’ on 9% gross revenue for the next 40 years. He explained that the company will pay Pakistan from its gross revenue and not on the net profit.

The officer said that at this stage, fish cargo can only be exported via Gwadar port as there are only fish processing factories in the area.

The officer believed that it will take decades for the port to become profitable due to the geographical location of Gwadar.

Port Qasim, he mentioned, had become formally operational in 1979 and reached its breakeven point after two decades despite being situated in the business and industrial hub of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2015.

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