Fiscal Year 2017-2018: Cargo handling at KPT rises by 4.18 percent

The total cargo handling operations, including exports and imports, at Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has remained brisk in financial year 2017-18. The KPT broke its own previous record and handled 54.685 million tons cargo in the financial year 2017-18 as compared to 52.493 million tons cargo handled in previous financial year.
This resulted in increasing total cargo handling by 4.18 percent. Similarly, the total container handling closed at 2.252 million TEU (twenty equivalent units) containers during FY18, which remained 6.79 percent more from 2.109 MEUs of the corresponding period in FY17.
Breakup shows that total dry cargo handling, including exports and imports, closed at 39.155 million tons during FY18, whereas the same remained at 37.173 million tons during the comparative period in FY17 showing an adequate comparative increase of 5.33 percent. The total liquid bulk cargo, according to breakup, has also nominally gained by 1.37 percent to close at 15.530 million tons during FY18, which remained at 15.320 million tons during the corresponding period of FY17.
Further breakup of exports cargo depict that dry cargo handling during the FY18 closed, with a gain of 34.78 percent, at 11.509 million tons and the liquid bulk cargo closed, with a gain of 14.51 percent, at 1.507 million tons comparative from the corresponding period of previous year of FY17.
These remained previous year respectively for dry and liquid bulk at 8.539 million tons and 1.316 million tons.
This increase was mainly due to handling of dry bulk cargo which remained 206.66 percent more from the previous financial year due to handling of wheat, cement, clinker and urea. Increased handling witnessed in liquid bulk cargo was also due to handling of Ethanol and Molasses.
Similarly, according to breakup of import cargo, the port handled fertilizer DAP, iron scrap, food grain, etc. as dry cargo, and handled crude oil, bitumen, HSD, etc. as liquid bulk cargo during the financial year 2018.
Focusing on its 10 years' business plan, KPT is at the thresholds of port expansion. The deep water container port "SAPT" has become operational and the port has set eyes on developing rail freight corridor and LNG complex projects at the deep water port.
Plans are also underway on linking Karachi Port with other two ports of the country which is all the more important as KPT projects to become transhipment hub of the region in the near future.-PR