KPT to take over PICT as 21-year concession expires
The Cabinet Committee on Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions (CCoIGCT) on Monday empowered the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) to take over the operations of the Container Terminal (Berths 6 to 9 at East Wharf) when its 21-year agreement expires on June 17 with the existing concessionaire — Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT). The meeting of the committee presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was given a presentation on the subject. The meeting was informed that KPT had entered into a 21-year contract with the PICT over the operations of the Container Terminal in 2002 on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis but the concessionaire was unwilling to vacate the facility by overstretching its position and contract terms. However, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs (MOMA) being the parent ministry of the KPT, based on resolutions and decisions of the board of directors of KPT, had directed the port trust to take over the facility soon after the expiry of the contract.