Pakistan’s ports being developed for regional corridor: PM Shehbaz

KARACHI: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday that the government was taking steps for the development of Pakistan’s seaports for the provision of shortest corridor to the regional countries, especially to the Central Asian States.

He said with a spur in sea trade by the Central Asian States, China and other countries of the region via Pakistani ports, the country could earn worth billions of dollars as foreign revenue every year.

The prime minister expressed these views during a visit to Hutchison Port, South Asian Pakistan Terminal where he was given a briefing, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.

On the occasion, he directed the Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to prioritize installation of latest scanners on Pakistani ports.

The prime minister said that the customs authorities in collaboration with the ports authorities should ensure immediate steps for complete utilization of the sea ports in Pakistan.

The prime minister was briefed that process for installation of latest scanners on ports by the FBR, was in the final stages which would enable rapid scanning of containers in the shortest time with the assistance of latest gadgets and artificial intelligence.

PM Shehbaz said for the progress of the country, it was imperative that its ports were also developed.

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He said for increasing country’s exports, the government was taking measures on priority basis.

Federal ministers Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attaullah Tarar, Jam Kamal Khan, Qaiser Ahmed Shaikh, Ahad Khan Cheema, Governor Sindh Kamran Khan Tessori, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, chairman FBR and other relevant officials accompanied the prime minister.

The prime minister was apprised that Hutchison Port, South Asian Pakistan Terminal was amongst the few global terminals located in deep seas which was being automatically operated upon.

The terminal had been equipped with latest technology and scanners and its operations were of the international standards.

PM Shehbaz was further informed that port had the capacity to handle the shipment of 35,00,000 containers annually.

The prime minister appreciated the latest operations of the port.