LAHORE: Maritime Affairs Minister Syed Ali Haider Zaidi has said that work on the establishment of five port terminals in the country is underway.
Addressing a ceremony at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry today, the minister maintained that the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, is striving to ensure ease of doing business.
He said that the Port Qasim Authority appointed consultants for the preparation of the master plan in order to incorporate changes made in the plan since 2001 as well as future planning.
Firms have been shortlisted and cases were being presented to the Infrastructure Development Committee (IDC) of the PQA board in this regard, he added.
Ali Zaidi said the PQA’s board had already approved the resolution to include the five new terminals in the existing master plan.
Earlier on December 24, 2020, the ECC of the Cabinet had approved the proposed amendments in Port Qasim Authority (PQA) Master Plan under Section 10 and 11 of PQA Act, 1973 for establishing five new terminals, including two multipurpose cargo terminals and one integrated container terminal on BOT basis.
It is pertinent to mention here that Section 10 and 11 of the PQA Act, 1973, provides that PQA shall prepare a master plan and phased master program for the development of the port area whereas documents for the two shall be submitted to the federal government for final approval.
The PQA master plan was originally prepared by state-owned National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) for a period up to 2000 with the assistance of Swan Wooster Engineering Canada in 1975.
Ali Zaidi today noted that maritime and shipping activity had reduced due to Covid-19 and a decrease in imports. He said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had made substantial gains in the Senate elections.
PTI has become the largest party in the Senate after recently held polls in the Upper House of the Parliament, Zaidi stated. Everyone knows how one seat was bought in the Senate polls, he said.
He said that the country is making progress and showing improvement in different sectors which could be witnessed by all.
