ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi on Monday met the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing and discussed a major initiative envisioned for the residents of Karachi.
The minister envisions transforming Pakistan into a maritime nation and raising the port city at par with leading ports. He is also endeavouring to fast track projects designed to transform encroached land into systematically planned residential areas having all the basic amenities in a state of the art manner.
Ali Zaidi observed globally port runs the cities whereby revenue streams of ports are utilised for the betterment of the people, citing the examples of Los Angeles and New York ports.
“Karachi has been neglected since independence, resource allocation was minimum with available resources plundered rampantly in collusion with property mafia and land grabbers,” he lamented.
Pioneering the concept of blue economy in Pakistan, Ministry of Maritime Affairs is poised to launch projects leading to sustainable exploitation of marine resources, and enhancement in turnaround time of cargo at ports. The project initially set for launch in the first quarter of 2020 got delayed due to COVID-19 outbreak and is expected to attract substantial FDI.
An enabling environment is being established in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner. These initiatives emphasise on the significance of Pakistan’s coastline of more than 1000 kilometres and harnessing the maritime potential which can rid the country of debt.
During the meeting, the minister shared with the Ambassador that even during the present COVID-19 crisis, port operations continued without any interruption.
He highlighted that Port Qasim handled 140 ships in March and 130 ships in April this year which bears testimony to the dedication of the maritime ministry in keeping the wheels of the economy running and keeping the supply chain intact.
The minister informed the envoy that deep-sea fishing was allowed to resume after complying with health SOPs so that the fishermen were not affected adversely due to the stoppage of fishing.
The Chinese envoy appreciated the two-pronged strategy of prevention through strict adherence of SOPs and protection of employment and sustenance in these testing times.
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