KARACHI: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Ports and Shipping on Monday asked the government for the notification of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) board of trustees so that pending decisions on port development and operations could be taken.

Official sources disclosed that the members of NA standing committee on ports and shipping headed by Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah were briefed during their visit on Monday to the KPT.

However, the committee members were unhappy over the delay in the notification of names of board of trustees of the KPT and asked the relevant officials to move the summary to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the approval, sources privy to the meeting told Dawn.

The Karachi Port is working without a board for the last four months after the trustees of the previous board completed their tenure and in December the entire board was dissolved.

The official team was led by KPT chairman, retired Rear Admiral Azhar Hayat, who informed the committee members that around 70 acres of Machar Colony were recovered by removing encroachments.

The KPT anti-encroachment cell managed to stop reclamation work at Sikandrabad and Keamari areas while dumping of debris behind old office of DG Ports and Shipping on Mai Kolachi was also stopped.

The NA committee directed the KPT to complete the jetty at Manora as soon as possible and terminate the contractor if he fails to deliver.

Details of recruitments made in the KPT during last five years were also sought along with financial position. The NA committee also wanted to know how to increase ports’ profitability which presently stands at around Rs2 billion a year, the sources said.

The committee members also questioned the need of developing Pakistan Deep Water Container Port (PDWCT) and its huge cost. The committee was informed that since larger vessels having deeper draft are being increasingly built to meet the economies of scale, it was necessary to have such a port which could accommodate vessels having over 300-350 metres LOA (length overall) or displacement.

They were also informed that under first phase having an estimated cost of Rs60 billion four berths would start operating by middle of next year and the PDWCP will be operated by a foreign company.

The NA Standing Committee on Ports and Shipping included Haji Muhammad Akram Ansari, Rana Muhammad Hayat Khan, Mehar Ishtiaq Ahmad, Seema Mohiuddin Jameeli, Shaheen Shafiq, Khalil George, Nabil Ahmed Gabol, Muhammad Salman Khan Baloch and Ch Tariq Bashir Cheema.