Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday said the people of Pakistan would decide the future government, juxtaposing the unprecedented performance of Pakistan Muslim League-N with its rival political parties and previous regimes. He noted that democracy is a sine qua non for the progress and prosperity of the country and its people. The dictators had always failed to deliver and their rule did not augur well for the country''s future, he said.
The prime minister was addressing the inauguration ceremony of Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Limited (PIBTL), the country''s first coal, clinker and cement terminal at the Port Qasim. The terminal has been completed at a cost of $285 million and so far provided berths to 12 coal ships.
The prime minister credited the people of Pakistan for their decision in favour of democratic system and noted that the continuity of the system would also provide a panacea to certain issues.
Under the democratic system, people make their best choices and send those people packing who have failed to perform, he said, adding the challenges always emerged but those would be tackled and overcome. The prime minister further said when the PML-N government came to power in 2013, the country was beset with numerous crises including the crippling power outages.
The government not only initiated work on 10,000MW power projects but completed them whereas certain projects would be nearing completion and now the power supply was in abundance, he added. The prime minister referred to visible functioning of different projects, being marshalled by the private investors and parties.
He said the gas scarcity also hit hard the fertilizers industry and CNG stations whereas the domestic consumers and other industrial units faced paucity of gas, but the government also took vital steps overcoming the issue.
The prime minister said a huge network of highways and motorways was being built under the PML-N government. PML-N was the only government in the history that solely invested in the country''s future. Under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) huge investment in country''s history was made which guaranteed prosperity, he added.
The prime minister said the PML-N government had announced a string of development projects which were not only completed ahead of the stipulated periods, but also undertook work on the projects, left unfinished by the previous regimes.
He cited the completion of Lowari tunnel in Chitral which was inaugurated by late Bhutto some 45 years back, but it was Nawaz Sharif who had completed the project at the cost of Rs 28 billion.
The prime minister noted that there was visible difference between a government relying only on hallow promises and the others like PML-N which had delivered. Balochistan coast has huge potential but it required proper tapping, he said and called upon all stakeholders to jointly pursue such projects.
Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair, Minister for Maritime Affairs Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Minister of State Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal and provincial authorities were present during the ceremony.
The prime minister also noted the environmental issues and hoped that the provincial government with support of the federal government would take up the challenge and resolve it. The governor had also taken some initiatives in this regard.
The prime minister observed that Pakistan was in need of setting up such terminals since long and expressed the hope that the quality of the terminal would surpass many peers in the world.
He said the private sector if given a chance could also deliver with its investment and both government and private sector could work together in these sectors.
The prime minister also termed the functioning of the state of the art terminal as future -looking initiative to boost export of cement and assured to address the related issues.
According to PIBT statement, the terminal has been dredged up to 13 metres and is capable of handling ships of up to 65,000 tons.
The terminal had a built-in capacity of handling up to 12 million tons of coal and 4 million tons of cement and clinker per year, which can together be further enhanced up to 20 million tons.
PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on the occasion appreciated Haleem Siddiqui and Shariq Siddiqui of Pakistan International Berth Terminal Limited, a public limited company sponsored by the Marine Group of Companies, for making the much needed investment in a sector crucial for national development.
"It is also all the more heartening to know that PIBTL is also environment friendly," assuring that problem with regard to expansion in railway tracks for transportation of coal from berth to sites of power plants will be addressed without any delay.
He announced that PML-N will continue to facilitate all local and foreign investors.
Earlier, CEO, PIBTL, Sharique Siddiqui in his detailed presentation said the project completed against a cost of around US 285 million dollars this year has already successfully berthed 12 coal ships at the terminal.
He mentioned that the project was partly financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a private sector arm of the World Bank Group.
Siddiqui sharing details of the project said the terminal is capable of handling twelve million tons of coal in bulk per annum and with an average discharge rate of over 30,000 tons per day, he said mentioning that international standards have been adopted in cargo handling.
PIBTL, under 30-year built, operate and transfer (BOT) agreement with Port Qasim Authority, has built its own jetty and was equipped with two coal ship unloading cranes and one cement/clinker loading crane, he said.
The state-of-the-art infrastructure at terminal will not only reduced cargo handling time but will also decrease wastage of coal and cement during handling and their amalgamation with external particles during storage.
The dedicated terminal was dredged to 13.0 meters deep and was capable of handling ships of up to 65,000 tons, said Siddiqui.
He claimed the terminal could operate more speedily, efficiently and reliably than the coal operation was being done by stevedores at Karachi Port.
"A coal cargo ship with similar tonnage of cargo currently took around five days at KPT while at PIBT it could be handled within two days due to modern and mechanized handling system," claimed PIBTL CEO.
The terminal jetty, he said has been built to handle deeper draft vessels of 15.5 metres and that PIBTL will also be able to handle larger vessels once Port Qasim dredges the channel deeper beyond 13 metres draft.
Siddiqui said PIBTL''s vision was to transform the port infrastructure through investment in the latest technologies and according to the best global standards for cargo handling.