As Asian Development Bank (ADB) is all set to make Indo-China corridor a reality, Pakistan should wake up and make Karachi a regional hub through the development of the Deep Water Terminal project and start catering to the growing exports of the region.
According to some sources from ports and shipping sector who are working closely with the ADB for its feasibility study of connecting a landlocked country Laos between Thailand and China via Cambodia and Vietnam, this corridor would be a plausible help to the region. This must be taken seriously and the government of Pakistan should take measures before India makes the Port of Salalah operational for its growing needs of trade, while Colombo port is already doing transshipment for India, sources added. This study of ADB provides technical assistance at the initial stages, and following the feasibility report the next stage is funding for the project, sources said.
In this regard, when Member Board of Governor World Maritime University Malmao, Sweden, Captain Anwar Shah was contacted he said India’s exports are witnessing phenomenal growth; therefore, it was the need of hour for the betterment of Pakistani ports to act as transshipped ports, for earning huge amounts of revenue by catering to the India’s growing export needs. He further said that it was high time for Pakistani port authorities to act upon and take measures to enhance the capacity of ports in the country.
