KARACHI, Oct 14 (APP):Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Saturday reposed his confidence that the people of Pakistan would decide the future government, juxtaposing the unprecedented performance of Pakistan Muslim League-N with its rival political parties and previous regimes.
He noted that democracy was sine qua non for the progress and prosperity of the country and its people.
The dictators had always failed to deliver and their rule did not augur well for the country’s future, he said.
The prime minister was addressing the inauguration ceremony of Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Limited
(PIBT), the country’s first coal, clinker and cement terminal at the Port Qasim. The terminal has been completed at
a cost of $285 million and so far provided berths to 12 coal ships.
The prime minister credited the people of Pakistan for their decision in favour of democratic system and noted
that the continuity of the system would also provide panacea to certain issues.
Under the democratic system, people make their best choices and sent those people packing to homes who had
failed to perform according to their expectations, he said, adding the challenges always emerged but those would be
tackled and resolved.
The prime minister further said when the PML-N government came to power in 2013, the country was beset with
numerous crises including the crippling power outages.
The government not only initiated work on 10,000 mw power projects but completed them whereas certain projects
would be nearing completion and now the power supply was in abundance, he added.
The prime minister referred to visible functioning of different projects, being marshaled by the private investors
and parties.
He said the gas scarcity also hit hard the fertilizers industry and CNG stations whereas the domestic consumers
and other industrial units faced paucity of gas, but the government also took vital steps overcoming the issue.
The prime minister said a huge network of highways and motorways was being built under the PML-N
government. PML-N was the only government in the history that solely invested in the country’s future. Under
the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) huge investment unparallel in country’s history was made which
guaranteed prosperity, he added.
PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on the occasion appreciated Haleem Siddiqui and Shariq Siddiqui of Pakistan International Berth Terminal Limited, a public limited company sponsored by the Marine Group of Companies, for making the much needed investment in a sector crucial for national development.
“It is also all the more heartening to know that PIBTL is also
environment friendly,” assuring that problem with regard to expansion in railway tracks for transportation of coal from berth to sites of power plants will be addressed without any delay.
He announced that PML (N) will continue to facilitate all local
and foreign investors.
Earlier, CEO, PIBTL, Sharique Siddiqui in his detailed
presentation said the project completed against a cost of around US $ 285 million this year has already successfully berthed 12 coal ships at the terminal.
He mentioned that the project was partly financed by the
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a private sector arm of the World Bank Group.
Siddiqui sharing details of the project said the terminal is
capable of handling twelve million tons of coal in bulk per annum and with an average discharge rate of over 30,000 tons per day, he said mentioning that international standards have been adopted in cargo handling.
PIBTL, under 30-year built, operate and transfer (BOT) agreement with Port Qasim Authority, has built its own jetty and was equipped with two coal ship unloading cranes and one cement/clinker loading crane, he said.
The state-of-the-art infrastructure at terminal will not only
reduced cargo handling time but also decrease wastage of coal and cement during handling and their amalgamation with external particles during storage.
The dedicated terminal was dredged to 13.0 meters deep and was capable of handling ships of up to 65,000 tons, said Siddiqui.
He claimed the terminal could operate more speedily, efficiently and reliably than the coal operation was being done by stevedores at Karachi Port.
“A coal cargo ship with similar tonnage of cargo currently
took around five days at KPT while at PIBT it could be handled within two days due to modern and mechanized handling system,” claimed PIBTL’ CEO.
The terminal jetty, he said has been built to handle deeper draft vessels of 15.5 metres and that PIBT will also be able to handle larger vessels once Port Qasim dredges the channel deeper beyond 13 metres draft.
Siddiqui said PIBTL’s vision was to transform the port
infrastructure through investment in the latest technologies and
according to the best global standards for cargo handling.
