Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri on Wednesday said that box trade had registered a phenomenal growth of 73 percent at Port Qasim (PQ) during the tenure of the present government due to its judicious and user-friendly approach.
"Under the circumstances, dredging and deepening of channels is our prerequisite and would be undertaken shortly, while the construction of new terminal would also be considered," he said during his visit to Port Qasim to review different development projects there. He said that one could gauge the rapid industrialisation at the Port by the fact that 125 industries were operational and 27 were under construction, while some 70 industries were in the pipeline.
Ghauri said that under the guidelines and vision of President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, the ports had accelerated their performance on a fast track policy and it was evident from the fact that ports were contributing significantly to the national exchequer.
The minister was briefed by senior officials of PQ about the ongoing and future projects at the Port. The minister stressed the need for implementation of the projects in the shortest possible time. Port Qasim Chairman Vice Admiral Asad Qureshi and other senior officials attended the briefing.