Ministry of Maritime Affairs has initiated measures to streamline sugar and cement handling operations at Port Qasim following reports of severe congestion caused by the slow discharge of sugar consignments.
A high-level meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry reviewed the situation and its impact on export activities, particularly cement and clinker shipments. The meeting brought together senior officials including Secretary Maritime Affairs Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Secretary Commerce Jawad Paul, Chairman Port Qasim Authority Rear Admiral (Retd.) Syed Moazzam Ilyas, Acting Chairman Karachi Port Trust Rear Admiral Atiq-ur-Rehman, Chief Executive Officer of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) Syed Rafeo Bashir Shah, Technical Advisor Maritime Affairs Commodore (Retd.) Muhammad Jawad Akhtar, and representatives of the Cement Exporters Association led by Arif Habib.
Addressing the meeting, Junaid Anwar Chaudhry underscored the need to enhance operational efficiency, align port management with national logistics priorities, and ensure smooth coordination among stakeholders.
The minister stressed the need for all ports to enhance their operational efficiency to ensure the smooth and timely discharge of consignments, noting that improving these operations is vital to prevent port congestion, which can cause delays, raise costs, and disrupt the supply chain. The meeting was informed that sugar was being unloaded at a rate lower than the port’s potential capacity. The minister directed the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) to optimize sugar unloading operations in line with its discharge capacity of around 4,000 to 4,500 tons per day.
The meeting also reviewed directives from the Prime Minister’s Office, which included utilizing Gwadar Port for up to 60 percent of sugar imports to ease the load on Karachi’s terminals. Participants also discussed berthing priorities and measures to prevent bottlenecks affecting the turnaround of export-bound ships.
It was agreed in the meeting that all vessels at Port Qasim and Karachi Port would be berthed strictly on a first-come, first-served basis.
The TCP was instructed to improve its operational planning, ensure better coordination of vessel arrivals, and maintain continuous communication with port authorities to avoid future congestion. Both port authorities were tasked with enforcing the berthing policy and closely monitoring discharge performance, with penalties to be applied in cases of unnecessary delays.
The federal minister directed all relevant agencies, including TCP and other state importers, to synchronize their freight movement plans with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs ahead of cargo arrivals.
He commended the constructive engagement of all participants and emphasized that consistent adherence to the agreed measures and performance standards was essential to sustaining ports’ efficiency and preventing a recurrence of such logistical disruptions.