Govt to set up company for Gwadar Port in Pakistan
Aftab Ahmed
The government has decided to set up a subsidiary company for the dredging and maintenance of Gwadar Port in Pakistan to avoid incurring heavy expenditure or hiring private companies for the purpose.
Pakistan owns Gwadar Port that has strategic importance and located in Balochistan Province. China is its operator under China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC). Pakistan had purchased Gwadar Port from Oman in 1958.
The Gwadar Port has strategic importance for Pakistan as it offers access to Central Asian States, Afghanistan, Iran, and even Russia. It may divert traffic from Dubai port as it had also offered China the shortest route for supply of oil from the Gulf.
The importance of Gwadar Port had also increased following close relations of Pakistan with China and Russia. Pakistan and China are also working on building an oil pipeline.
Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has taken a decision in this regard while considering approval of funds for maintenance, dredging in the non-development budget of Gwadar Port Authority in Pakistan for the financial year 2020-21.
The economic coordination committee (ECC) directed the Ministry of Maritime Affairs to establish a new company for the purpose and explored the possibility of the arrangement of requisite funds through loaning of the facility from Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and Port Qasim Authority (PQA).
Cabinet division informed it received the subject additional Agenda item in the Cabinet Division after the deadline of seven days before the meeting, as stipulated in Rule 18(6) read with Rule 23(4) of the Rules of Business, 1973.
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Therefore, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs requested the Chairman, ECC, to consider the agenda of Gwadar Port’s agenda as urgently required. The Chairman, ECC, allowed the request to table the Summary in consideration of proviso of the rule described above.
The maritime affairs division briefed about the case. It solicited approval of the ECC for allocation of Rs 4,425,002,400 outside the Ministry’s budget for the next FY 2021-2022 for Pakistan’s gwadar port authority.
It informed that Finance Division advised the Ministry of Maritime Affairs to seek loan allocations in the subsequent financial year for dredging of Gwadar Port.
During the ensuing discussion, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Austerity & －Institutional Reforms suggested that the Ministry of Maritime Affairs should set up a subsidiary company for the dredging to avoid incurring heavy expenditure or hiring private companies for the purpose.
Minister for Maritime informed that the proposal for establishing a separate company for dredging had already been prepared and would be presented to the ECC soon.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet considered the Summary dated 8th June 2021 submitted by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs regarding Allocation of Funds for the Maintenance Dredging in the Non-Development Budget of Gwadar Port Authority for the Year 2020-21 and did not approve the proposal of the Summary.
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ECC directed the Ministry of Maritime Affairs to establish a new company for the purpose and explored the possibility of the arrangement of requisite funds through loaning of the facility from KPT and PQA.
