Deal signed for coal, cement terminal

KARACHI: An agreement was signed on Saturday for the development of the country’s first mechanised and fully automated coal, cement and clinker terminal on a 30-year Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.

Chairman of Port Qasim Authority (PQA) Vice Admiral M Shafi and Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Limited (PIBTL) Sharique A Siddiqui signed the implementation agreement.
The terminal construction will cost around $173 million. It is expected to become operational in three years with an initial project cost of $140 million.


Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Limited CEO said the terminal would be capable of handling 8 million tons per annum of coal, cement and clinker. The jetty will have a depth of 15 meters and length of 460 meters and will be capable of handling two ships of up to 75,000 dead weight tonnage (DWT) simultaneously. The jetty will be connected to the backup area of 25 hectares with a 2.5 kilometers long trestle with two convener belts.

Coal, cement and clinker storage capacity will be 900,000 tons, 540,000, tons (nine silos of 6000 tons each) and 360,000 tons, respectively.

Shafi said that PIBT would be the largest investment in Port Qasim so far. He said this would be the eighth terminal at PQA.

He said the 45-kilometers channel of PQA was an opportunity for investors.

He said there was potential for setting up liquefied natural gas terminal at the port.

Expression of Interest for the project was invited by PQA from foreign and national firms in 2006.
Six firms were pre-qualified for the project and Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT) was selected for the project.

Under the requirements of PQA, a separate terminal operating company PIBT was incorporated to carry on the project. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of PICT.