Pakistan announces up to 80% discount on transshipment cargo

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Wednesday announced a unified transshipment incentive package offering concessions of up to 80% at Karachi Port and Port Qasim to reduce cargo handling costs and attract regional shipping traffic.

The package, jointly introduced by the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Port Qasim Authority (PQA) and their container terminal operators, includes significant reductions in port wet charges, wharfage, storage fees and terminal handling charges for containerised, bulk and break-bulk transshipment cargo.

Announcing the initiative, the minister said the new framework introduces a slab-based concession on port wet charges for vessels carrying transshipment cargo.

Under the policy, vessels carrying 5% to 10% transshipment cargo will receive a 20% concession on wet charges. The concession will increase to 30% for vessels carrying 11% to 25% transshipment cargo, 50% for 26% to 50%, 70% for 50% to 90% transshipment cargo—subject to a minimum of 2,000 TEUs for container vessels—and 80% for vessels carrying 90% to 100% transshipment cargo with a minimum of 3,500 TEUs.

In addition, Karachi Port Trust will offer wharfage concessions ranging from 20% to 80%. Vessels qualifying for the 70% concession must carry at least 2,000 TEUs of transshipment cargo, while those seeking the maximum 80% concession must carry at least 3,500 TEUs.

KPT will also provide 14 days of free terminal storage and up to 30 days of free storage at the TPX cargo area under the responsibility of shipping agents.

Port Qasim Authority will grant a 100% concession on wharfage charges, along with seven days of free storage at terminals, extendable to 21 days for cargo movement under the responsibility of shipping agents.

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To complement the port incentives, Pakistan’s four major container terminals have also announced reductions in Terminal Handling Charges (THC) for transshipment containers.

Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT), South Asia Pakistan Terminals (SAPTL), Karachi Gateway Terminal Limited (KGTL) at Karachi Port, and Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT) at Port Qasim will offer a 10% reduction in THC for vessels carrying 5% to 10% transshipment cargo, 20% for 11% to 25%, and up to 25% for vessels carrying more than 25% transshipment cargo.

The concessions will apply to both 20-foot and 40-foot containers and are expected to significantly reduce overall handling costs for shipping lines.

The minister said the new framework replaces all previous transshipment concession notifications and statutory regulatory orders (SROs) with a single, transparent and performance-based regime applicable at both Karachi Port and Port Qasim.

KPT Chairman Rear Admiral (Retd) Shahid Ahmed said the package was expected to lower transshipment costs, attract additional mainline shipping services, improve vessel turnaround times and increase regional cargo volumes through Pakistan’s ports.