Senate Standing Committee on Defence Production, on Monday, observed that Gwadar presented itself as an ideal site for the construction of modern shipyard.
It was also noted that there was no shipbuilding facility in the entire Gulf region as of now.
The committee met under the chairmanship of Senator Lt Gen (R) Abdul Qayyum here at the Parliament House.
Others present on the occasion included Senators Nauman Wazir Khattak, Nuzhat Sadiq, Muhammad Akram, Pervaiz Rasheed, Muhammad Ali Shah Jamot; Minister for Defence Production Zubaida Jalal; Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW) Managing Director Rear Admiral Ather Saleem as well as officials from the ministry and KS&EW.
The meeting was briefed on the establishment of Gwadar Shipyard on an area of 750 acres.
Committee Chairman observed that shipyards were considered strategic assets for any country as they not only contributed to the country’s indigenous commercial and defence pursuits but also earned a lot of revenue through ship exports.
He added that the summary for the construction of Gwadar shipyard had been approved by the previous government.
Presently, 750 acres of land with four kilometres of seaport was said to have been demarcated and allotted at Sur nullah while Rs 200 million was released to activate Project Management Cell.
Members of the committee, however, emphasised on expediting the work on the project so that it can be completed in the given time frame. The Ministry of Defence Production was also asked to supervise all work and conduct feasibility studies ranging from infrastructure to future load and density requirements.
The minister told the committee that Labour and administrative training in Balochistan would also be a part of the agreement to provide employment to locals whereas the shipyard would be made a model of an entire city.
During the meeting, it was also highlighted that Pakistan had only inherited one shipyard at Chittagong at the time of its creation. This was said to be modernized in 1922 by the British.
Bangladesh now had 23 shipyards; becoming a ship exporting country, the panel asserted.
While India also had over 43 big shipyards, unfortunately, Pakistan still relied upon Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works Limited (KS&EW), constructed in 1957.
KS&EW was established in 1956 as a public limited company and covered an area of 71 acres.
Headed by a managing director, the shipyard has a total of 2800 employees.
It has two graving docks, three ship-building berths and two quay walls.
To date, as many as 448 ships have been designed and prepared by the shipyard including those made for UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran and Belgium.
KS&EW has also manufactured Pakistan Navy Fleet Tanker with a capacity of 17000 tonnes of displacement as well as two helicopters simultaneously.
Other projects include the production of aluminium boats, fast track craft missiles, and submarines.
The shipyard also carries out ship repair and other general engineering projects. With a ship lifting capacity of 7881 tonnes, the shipyard has a parking space for 12 vessels. It also carries out infrastructural upgradation of its facilities.