Caretaker Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Dr Fahim Ansari has assured a delegation of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) that he will arrange a meeting of business community with the Prime Minister on the issue of port congestion charges on his return from aboard.
The delegation, led by KCCI President Shamim Ahmed Shamsi, apprised the minister that Karachi International Container Terminal and Pakistan International Container Terminal imposed the congestion charges. Sources said that the delegation also apprised the minister that some of the companies were refusing to touch Pakistan ports on the ground of congestion at the ports.
They said that on the ground of congestion at PICT and KICT imposed TC surcharge at the rate of Rs 5,000 for 20-foot container and RS 10,000 for 40-foot containers. The minister said that there was no congestion on both the ports nor was there any difficulty in stocking goods at the ports.
The minister assured the delegation that he would apprise the Prime Minster about the concern of business community about congestion charges. He said that besides the Prime Minister, the Commerce Minister, Chairmen of Karachi Port Trust and Port Qasim would attend the meeting. He also said the government would take strict action on all such measures that might hike prices of raw material and industrial products.