Islamabad: Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Wednesday announced an integrated transshipment incentive package designed to reduce cargo handling expenses and draw regional shipping traffic to Karachi Port and Port Qasim. The initiative offers substantial concessions on various charges to boost trade activities at these ports.

According to Press Information Department, the package has been collaboratively introduced by the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Port Qasim Authority (PQA), and their container terminal operators. It includes reductions in wet charges, wharfage, storage fees, and terminal handling charges for containerized, bulk, and break-bulk transshipment cargo. The framework provides a slab-based concession on Port Wet Charges, offering varying discounts based on the percentage of transshipment cargo on vessels, with the highest concessions for vessels carrying 90-100% transshipment cargo.

Additional concessions from KPT include wharfage discounts ranging from 20% to 80%, along with free storage provisions at terminals and TPX cargo areas. PQA offers a full wharfage concession and extended free storage terms for cargo under agent responsibility. Major container terminals in Pakistan, such as Karachi International Container Terminal and Qasim International Container Terminal, have also announced notable reductions in Terminal Handling Charges, which apply to both 20-feet and 40-feet containers.

The newly introduced framework replaces prior transshipment concession notifications and SROs with a unified, transparent regime applicable at both ports. KPT Chairman Rear Admiral (R) Shahid Ahmed expressed that the package is anticipated to cut costs, attract more shipping services, enhance vessel turnaround times, and increase regional cargo volumes through Pakistani ports.