Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT) on Wednesday imported 12 gantries from China at a cost of $24.5 million to enhance its cargo handling capacity. According to well-placed sources, a ZPMC's project vessel, M/v ZHEN HUA-5, carrying two Ship to Shore Gantries (SSGs) weighing 1,200 tons each and 10 Rubber Tyred Gantries (RTGs), was safely docked at PICT.
They said PICT has imported two quayside cranes at a cost of $12 million, while the 10 RTGs costing around $1.25 million each. The PICT, sources said, had made a huge investment of $25 million to enhance its cargo handling capacity from the current 0.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 0.8 million TEUs. Shipping freight for the gantries, which would be discharged on Thursday (today), stood at around $8 million, which is 13 percent of the total cost of a gantry, they added.
In addition to the new induction into PICT craning units, the experts said the commissioning of Phase-III of Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT) would also enable Karachi Port Trust to handle about 1.6 to 1.8 million TEUs provided if it maintained an efficient and smooth port operation. According to a statement issued by PICT the new equipment would add to terminal operator's existing four quayside cranes and ten RTGs.
It said the new equipment, which has been acquired from a world famous port-crane manufacturer, ZPMC China, is brand new. The electric powered RTGs would burn less fuel and as such be both cost-effective and environment-friendly, said the statement. The latest equipment is part of the Phase-IV expansion of PICT, which would significantly increase the terminal's annual handling capacity, which stood at 475,000 TEUs during the financial year 2007-2008.
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