Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has completed survey of fish harbour's navigational channel of 0.1 million square metre for dredging to deepen the seabed by four metres in line with the global port dictum, officials told Business Recorder on Monday. Earlier, a short-spanned disagreement between KPT and Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA) had delayed dredging of the harbour, as the trust wanted to do the job at $8 per cubic metre while the authority wanted the deepening of port's seabed without charges.
However, both parties reached an agreement amicably to accomplish the task without any charges, after the prime minister intervened, officials said, adding that the fish harbour's dredging had taken place some 20 years ago and, therefore, it was badly needed to deepen the channel draft for the smooth navigation of vessels. Officials said on the basis of survey, KPT would float a tender to hire a firm to finish the project. "It is needed to see how long it takes to emerge," they said, adding the survey report had been evolved in line with the KFHA requirements.
Officials of KFHA had also confirmed the KPT had completed the survey of harbour navigational channel but showed ignorance how long the degrading would take time to begin. The KFHA had showed inability for its weak financial position to dredge its harbour waters and demanded of the government to provide it with the KPT's assistance for the trust had its dredgers to accomplish the job.
However, the KPT officials had also refused to the job at its own because the dredgers it had were bigger in size as compared to the total size of the fish harbour's navigational channel. The KPT later, according to some officials, agreed to do the dredging by hiring private firm to employ a small size of machinery. The dredging project would be carried out in different phases, as KFHA wants to manage the movement and parking of the in-out fishing boats.
Officials said the authority did not want to disturb the seafood landing at the harbour nor the boats movement in the navigational channel, adding that the port would remain operational during the dredging. The last dredging of the fish harbour was done through EU grant by an Italian firm M/s "Lodigiani SPA" in 1990, costing the then currency unit of "ECU" 12 million, according to the officials.