Fauji Akbar Portia (FAP) terminal introduced a new benchmark in cargo operations, when it delivered an appreciable excess quantity of 567 metric tons of urea in sound conditions to Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and National Fertiliser Marketing Limited (NFML) from the last three urea vessels it had handled at its terminal recently.
This excess quantity of 567 metric tons is over and above the manifested cargo quantity and has reportedly translated into an enormous financial savings to the tune of Rs 30.61 million for Trading Corporation of Pakistan, which is a Stated Owned Entity (SOE).
According to stakeholders FAP terminal, which was established as country's first dedicated grain and fertiliser terminal, has turned around the spectacle of bulk cargo operations in a very short span of time. For FAP's ever-increasing clientele base, the loss in cargo handling and pilferage in the quantities, that were inherent in conventional port operations, now seemed a matter of distant past, they said.
This excess quantity of 567 metric tons, if discharged at other ports, would most likely have been recorded as cargo handling loss and wastage and subjected to routine pilferages thereby entailing a sizeable loss of Rs 30.61 million to national exchequer and country's poor economy. However, FAP terminal very efficiently converted this sum into an emulating profit for TCP, by virtue of its state of the art cargo un-loaders, bagging plants and highly skilled manpower.
According to an estimate, 95 per cent of the total cargo trade of Pakistan is seaborne and TCP and other importers / traders face billions of rupees of loss on account of cargo handling through inefficient and obsolete cargo handling systems. By providing 567 tons of excess urea to TCP, FAP has demonstrated its accurate, fast and efficient cargo handling system at its terminal, which has not only minimised cargo wastage but has also nullified threat of pilferages. FAP's handling saves sizeable amount for not only the country but for the end users as well.
The deployment of latest plant and equipment to handle urea / fertiliser, faster rate of cargo discharge rate and deeper draft makes FAP the most cost efficient terminal of Pakistan when it comes to handling imported urea / fertiliser. The terminal is designed to operate and handle bulk cargoes at Port Qasim Authority including all types of fertiliser and fertiliser raw materials.