Pakistan’s Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi took to Twitter on 3rd June to announce that the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) achieved substantial growth in cargo handling over the past 11 months, reflecting robust economic activity.
According to the figures shared by the minister in his tweet, during the 11 Month Fiscal Year from July to May 2021, the cargo on the ports increased 25.71 per cent in 11MFY21 compared to the same period in the last fiscal year.
Similarly, the port saw a 13.6 per cent growth in container handling YoY and a 21.3 per cent increase in ship movement, in the 11-month period from July 2020 to May 2021.
The tweet lastly mentioned that the container volumes at Qasim port in Karachi increased 12.65 percent Year-on-Year.
Substantial growth in Cargo handling at our ports over last 11 months clearly reflects robust economic activity.
Jul-May 2021 figures below:@official_kpt Cargo(mn tonnes) +25.71% YoY.
Container(TEUs) +13.6% Ship movements +21.3%
Volumes at @QasimPort +12.65%
Pakistan on the rise— Ali Haider Zaidi (@AliHZaidiPTI) June 3, 2021
Khaleej Times, a major MENA region news agency reported that in the preceding month of May, the trust had informed that it saved Rs602 million rupees in administrative and operating costs due to efficient financial management and effective use of resources and cutting costs.
Read More: Karachi Port Trust saved over 14 million in five months, says Minister Zaidi
This was said in a press release on 26th May. According to the document, Separating the procurement department from Stores in compliance to Federal Audit advice, which is now focusing on inventory management, has led to higher issuance of local purchase orders and enhanced financial propriety as this contributed to Rs 130 million of the total cost savings of Rs 602 million and is a sustainable cost saving exercise henceforth.
The press release mentions other achievements made in the July-May period.
In the last five months, KPT also made dredgers named Ali operational, recommenced dredging of China Creek, repaired and made an operational new overhead bridge on Keamari Road, repaired Berth 4, and planted over 16,000 mangroves.
KPT said the plantation of mangroves is still continuing. KPT also started recruitment of women in the port security force for the first time to introduce gender parity and established daycare centers for female employees.
It also set up two modern fire tenders to combat blazes in Pakistan’s most populous city and also engaged land evaluators to reassess the value of real estate owned by the KPT to maximize its monthly rental income.
Recently, Secretary, Ministry of Maritime Affairs, along with Mahmood Moulvi Special Assistant to Prime Minister, chaired a meeting to review the security of the Oil Installation Area at Karachi Port. Present were relevant stakeholders, KPT official shared on Twitter.
The Karachi Port Trust according to Business Recorder handled 95,091 tonnes of cargo comprising 69,993 tonnes of import cargo and 25,098 tonnes of export cargo during last 24 hours ending on Friday.
The total import cargo of 69,993 comprised of 22,005 tonnes of Containerized Cargo, 934 tonnes of Bulk Cargo, 6,629 tonnes of Canola, 6,246 tonnes of DAP, 7,640 tonnes of Soya Bean Seeds, and 26,539 tonnes of Oil/Liquid Cargo.
Read More: Customs launches system to scan import cargo
The total export cargo of 25,098 tonnes comprised of 5,813 tonnes of containerized cargo, 195 tonnes of Bulk Cargo, 17,685 tonnes of Clinkers, and 1,405 tonnes of Oil/Liquid Cargo.