Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) has sought the Ministry of Ports and Shipping for carrying out a study on six ports of Pakistan, Turkey, and Iran. They also asked for the establishment of ECO Zones in the respected ports.
According to a letter (No. FPCCI/ECOCCI/2011-2295), dated June 10, 2011, from Acting Secretary General ECO Maher Alam Khan to the Secretary Ministry of Ports and Shipping Pakistan Muhammad Salim Khan the ECO is going to hold a meeting in Karachi on 14 to 16 September in this regard.
The letter stated that the ECO is seriously considering carrying out a study of the six sea ports of the member countries in order to specify their logistic capacities that can provide facilities for the landlocked countries of the ECO region. The ports that have been selected for the study include Trabzon and Mersin from Turkey, Bandar-Abbas and Chahbahar from Iran, and Gawadar and Port Muhammad bin Qasim from Pakistan.
Also, the meeting would reach a decision about providing land free of charge for ‘ECO Zones’ near all the selected ports by relevant ECO countries, the letter added.
In this regard, the former Director General Ministry of Ports and Shipping Captain Anwar Shah while responding to the ECO letter said that the proposal of carrying out a study to determine the capabilities of the ports in the region would definitely serve the landlocked countries.
‘The study to be carried out may identify Port handling capacities of Bulk and General Cargo, container handling capacity of 2.1 million TEUs at Karachi and Port Qasim terminals, additional capacity of handling boxes due to commissioning of QICT II and Pakistan Deep water container Port, and access to the ports through express ways and by passes to ensure quick turn around of ships,’ he added.
Similarly, he stressed, that in order to facilitate landlocked countries the study should also identify inter section logistic centers (ICDs) in both Pakistan and Central Asia, while it is to be noted that presently two ICDs have been built at Premnagar Lahore, which can be taken as an example for further initiatives in this regard.
He further stated that the study shall be of immense value to all ECO countries. Turkey has Trabzon port to serve the black sea region and Mersin port in the Mediterranean to serve Turkish mainland and Syria.
Iran is already making good use of Bunder Abbas by providing facilities to North of Afghanistan and Central Asia due to excellent logistic facility, therefore, a study is important to identify potentials, weakness and recommend improvements for selected ports, he added.
Shah said that Pakistan must buy the proposal by reserving free of cost land near Gwadar Port, so that Gwadar Port may serve as transit port for landlocked countries. Moreover, Pakistan may offer land on Northern bypass and Eastern Zone of Port Qasim for ECO zones, he suggested. The said meeting in September is being hosted by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI).
ECONOMIC COOPERATION ORGANIZATION (ECO)
Is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the Member States. ECO is the successor organization of Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) which remained in existence since 1964 up to 1979. In 1992, the Organization was expanded to include seven new members, namely: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan. The date of the Organization’s expansion to its present strength, November 28, is being observed as the ECO Day. The ECO region is full of bright trading prospects. Despite its young age, ECO has developed into a thriving regional organization. Its international stature is growing. Nevertheless, the organization faces daunting challenges with respect to realization of its objectives and goals. Most importantly, the region is lacking in appropriate infrastructure and institutions which the Organization is seeking to develop, on priority basis, to make full use of the available resources in the region. Over the past 12 years the member states have been collaborating to accelerate the pace of regional development through their common endeavors. Besides shared cultural and historic affinities, they have been able to use the existing infrastructural and business links to further fortify their resolve to transfer their hopes and aspirations into a tangible reality. ECO has embarked on several projects in priority sectors of its cooperation including energy, trade, transportation, agriculture and drug control.
ECO to evaluate potential of Pakistan’s ports
