20000309

Dangerous cargo

shed to be opened

at West Wharf

MUZAFFAR QURESHI

KARACHI: A new dangerous cargo storage facility will be inaugurated at West Wharf of the Karachi Port on March 15, which will not only be cost effective for the port users, but will also cater to storage requirements of such cargo for the next 25 years.

KPT Chairman Vice Admiral Khalid Mir told Business Recorder on Wednesday that the construction of the new dangerous cargo shed would save the port users the huge cost incurred earlier to shift the dangerous cargo landing on West Wharf to East Wharf through barges and subsequent loading and unloading costs.

The new dangerous cargo shed at West Wharf will cater to the storage of such cargo landing on West Wharf. Hitherto there was only one such shed at East Wharf which had existed since before the creation of Pakistan.

The dangerous cargo landing at West Wharf had to be shifted through barges for which the consignees pay the East Wharf, and thus entails a lot of Customs formalities. Also one dangerous cargo shed was unable to cater to the storage needs of 21 berths.

The new dangerous cargo shed has been built with modern storage specifications and has been equipped with fool-proof automatic fire fighting equipment.

The KPT has executed several projects for modernisation of the Karachi Port. One of them is re-construction of oil Pier-II which would further facilitate the liquid cargo handling at the Karachi Port.