The Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Ministry of Defence Production (MoDP) met on Monday under the Chairmanship of Khawaja Sohail Mansoor, MNA, regarding the scrutiny of budgetary proposals of Ministry of Defence Production relating to Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works Ltd and Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the financial year 2016-17.
KSEW's major areas of business are sugar plants / machinery, overhead Cranes (up to 100 tons capacity), industrial boilers and pressure vessels, cement plants, floodlights and wind turbine towers equipment for petroleum and petrochemical industry, drilling rigs, structures for power plants, barrage gates and passenger boarding bridges. A woman member of standing committee gave a good proposal that KSEW can get commercial business from New Airport for Islamabad by selling them passenger boarding bridges. Otherwise, ultimately, airport has to buy it from some other company.
The committee was informed by Managing Director KSEW Rear Admiral Syed Hasan Nasir Shah HI (M) that KSEW is playing a major role in transferring of technologies and broadening industrial base of the country. He mentioned that KSEW received a maximum number of commercial orders and the entire credit goes to Rana Tanveer Hussain, Minister of Defence Production. He mentioned that KSEW needs help of Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in two projects, which are 'Ship lift' and 'Transfer System and Upgradation of KSEW.
"The Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) can play a vital role towards providing budgetary resources for development projects of KSEW," said Rana Tanveer Hussain, Minister of Defence Production. Even he said that Ship lift and Transfer System will increase capacity of KSEW thrice.
Chairman Standing Committee, Khawaja Sohail Mansoor even asked MD KSEW whether the KSEW received any orders for Gawader Port and is it playing any role in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor because China and Pakistan have found common ground in terms of maritime interest in the region.
Karachi Shipyard is the only shipyard and oldest heavy engineering establishment of Pakistan, catering for shipbuilding, ship repair and general heavy engineering. It has played a historical role in transferring of technologies and broadening the industrial base of country.