Fire incident at PIBT disrupts operations

A fire incident at the Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Limited (PIBT) has disrupted operations, which may lead to delays in discharging the cargo. The development was disclosed by PIBT in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday.

“On 19 November 2024, a fire incident occurred at PIBT Terminal while a cargo of coal was being discharged which has caused considerable damage to the portion of the terminal infrastructure,” the company said.

It said that “the cause of the fire has been beyond the reasonable control of PIBT and has materially and adversely affected a portion of the terminal and partially impacted PIBT in the performance of its obligations”.

“Meanwhile, the terminal’s operations have continued unabated as we have made alternate arrangements to discharge cargo at the terminal. However, PIBT’s ability to discharge cargo at the terminal on behalf of its customers has been temporarily affected and may unfortunately cause a delay in discharging the cargo,” it added.

The company stated it “is endeavouring its best to manage the smooth discharge of the cargo and is hopeful that the operations of PIBT’s Terminal will return to its customary form and speed within December 2024”.

PIBT has been set up as Pakistan’s first terminal for handling coal, clinker and cement on the build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis at Port Qasim Authority, located 50km from Karachi.

It has a capacity for handling up to 12 million tons of coal and 4 million tons of cement & clinker per year, which can together be further enhanced up to 20 million tons per year.

In November, Reko Diq Mining Company (Private) Limited selected PIBT as the preferred port facility for handling its cargo concentrate during the initial phase of the Reko Diq mining project.