Marine Group of Companies Managing Director Aasim A. Siddiqui said that we are hoping for a subsidy in tariff concessions from the European Union through which import
duty will reduce and in turn will help the economy of the country.
He said that the shipping industry’s potential can be gauged by the fact that around 30 per cent share of national GDP (even in terms of return of external trade) comes from this sector. But, in general the growth of the shipping industry is at a slow pace for the last 10 years. He said our growth requires actual expansion as currently it is only in terms of volume.
Talking about Pakistan International Bulk Terminal (PIBT), he said its unusual project for dirty bulk cargo handling as coal handling is not specifically carried out in Pakistan, and there is no bulk terminal in the country. He said that coal should be imported more frequently and should be used to tackle the gas deficiency the country is facing in terms of energy development.
The capacity of PIBT would be 12 million tones per year in the domain of both imports and exports of coal, clinker and cement, but the final commissioning of the terminal would require a three years time because we still have to develop a jetty, and require space to develop a conveying belt there due to its 2.4 kilometers distance from the main channel at Port Qasim, he said. Aasim further said that PIBT is a subsidiary of Pakistan International Containers Terminal (PICT) and basically it is the coal, clinker and cement terminal that is to be developed in two phases and the total cost for both the phases is estimated to be $140 million.
Take on energy crisis
He said Pakistan’s growing industry requires viable and cost effective fuel sources for power generation as demand for coal is steadily increasing due to the adoption of coal firing system in the cement manufacturing process, he said. He further added that for example in 2010, total imported coal was 4.5 million tonnes and export of cement and clinker was approximately 10.6 million tonnes. The terminal will have the total cement handling capacity of 50,000 tonnes and will also have a capacity to stack 150,000 tonnes of clinker at any given time, while the storage area will have a capacity to store about 775,000 tonnes of coal at any given time, stacked in heaps of about fifteen meters height, he informed. He further said that freight cost for cement is very high in Pakistan and this is the reason investors are establishing cement manufacturing plants in the Middle East. To a question, he said that shipping charges have been experiencing a declining trend and due to the global recession, freight costs are now half from 2007, mainly by dint of access capacity.
Future expectations: When asked what he was expecting from this fiscal, he believed this too will remain a flat one as crisis in foreign countries was not yet over. We still have the domino effect because the global recession is now affecting small economies, therefore, sales are low and world economy is not growing more than its usual pace, he added. In Pakistan, there is an economic turmoil and commodity pricing is not stable, he said, adding that government’s spending is also low which is non-productive. He further said that Pakistan has absorbed the oil impact because everything is passed on to the consumer.
“We jacked up the rates, but it’s a failure. Yet import pricing is stable due to remittances and other factors, but to predict any thing is difficult,” said Aasim. We have so many blessings positively affecting Pakistan, and it is a good sign that shipping lines are calling directly to Pakistan since the last 3 years, he added.
Aasim also heads a consulting firm namely Pegasus Consultancy, so talking about that he said the trend of exhibitions is declining due to poor law and order situation in the country, in addition the budgets of multinational corporations are also shrinking. And to cap it all, Pakistan is the least preferred country for international players as the growth rates are low, opportunities are scarce and the industry is facing stagnation.
He said rapid economic uplift and the growing need of the local industry for much-needed recognition in world markets set the stage for the formation of Pegasus Consultancy to establish new standards in the conference and exhibition industry of Pakistan. In 1999, as a group initiative of the Marine Group of Companies, Pegasus Consultancy came forth with a vision of putting buyers and sellers together at one interactive platform, while encouraging cross-fertilisation of ideas with the highest level of customer service and commitment, he added.
Marine Group of Companies: The Marine Group came into inception over three decades ago, with a vision to be of service to Pakistan’s economy, through the provision of a variety of superior quality products and services to a local and global clientele. With the Group’s first company, Premier Mercantile Services (Pvt.) Ltd., established in 1964, it has progressively grown. Today, it is diversified into Maritime Services, Stevedoring, Terminal Operations, Chartering of ships, Global Logistics, Agency Services and Insurance Cover to the International Maritime Industry, Information Technology and Travel and Tourism. The group is also running Pakistan International Containers Terminal (PICT) that is a modern container terminal operating at the Karachi Port in Pakistan. PICT is the only container terminal listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange. PICT was set up at an investment cost of over $100 million and is financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.
